BENJAMIN     FRANKLIN, 
1706-1790. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 
AND   EDUCATION 

HIS    IDEAL   OF   LIFE 

AND  HIS   SYSTEM   OF  EDUCATION  FOR  THE 
REALIZATION   OF  THAT   IDEAL 


BY 


DAVID   EXCELMONS   CLOYD 

PH.B.,  UNIVERSITY  OF  MINNESOTA;   A.M.,  TEACHERS'  COLLEGE, 

COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 
FIELD  REPRESENTATIVE  OF  THE  GENERAL  EDUCATION  .BOARD 


BOSTON,  U.S.A. 

D.  C.  HEATH  &  CO.,  PUBLISHERS 
1902 


' 


COPYRIGHT,  1902, 
BY  DAVID  EXCELMONS  CLOYD. 


DEDICATED   TO 

DR.   D.   L.   KIEHLE 

WHO  FIRST  AWAKENED   MY   INTEREST 
IN  THE 

HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION 


120792 


PREFACE 

I  HAVE  endeavored  in  this  volume  to  give  a 
simple  presentation  of  Franklin's  ideal  of  life, 
and  the  means  whereby  an  individual  might 
attain  nearest  to  this  ideal  in  his  own  life.  I 
have  conceded  that  there  was  a  great  gulf  be 
tween  the  ideal  Franklin  and  the  real  Franklin, 
and  I  have  indicated  that  there  are  proofs  of 
this  fact  in  his  writings,  but  I  have  touched 
lightly  upon  this  topic  because  it  was  the  ideal 
and  not  the  real  I  was  attempting  to  portray, 
believing  as  I  do  that  it  was  this  ideal  which 
made  Franklin  the  great  and  good  man  that  he 
was,  and  that  it  still  has  power  to  lift  up  from 
poverty  many  another  boy  to  eminence  and 
virtue. 

DAVID    EXCELMONS  CLOYD. 

116  NASSAU  STREET,  NEW  YORK, 
August,  1902. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

PREFACE  .       .        .        .        .       .       ...       .        .        v 

BIBLIOGRAPHY ix 

PART   I 
CHAPTER  I 


FRANKLIN'S  EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL 


3 


«^i.  Life  as  a  whole        :        .  .      .  .      .        .        .      .  .  3 

* .  a.  Aim  of  life 4 

v  b.  Theory  of  morality  ......  5 

*  c.  Two  governing  principles  in  life       ...  6 
d.  Method  of  attaining  moral  perfection        .         .  7 

/  e.  Religion  an  element  of  his  ideal        ...  9 

//.  Ideal  realized  in  himself 1 1 

2.  Estimate  of  mankind 14 

•    a.  Two  classes  of  people 14 

*  b.  Tolerant  of  others'  opinions      .         .         .         -15 
1  c.  Charitable  feeling  for  humanity        .         .         .16 

d.  Motives  that  govern  mankind  .         .         .  17 

3.  Guide  to  material  success 18 

•4^-IJQwJFranklin  was- educated— . -.        .        .         .  18 

CHAPTER   II 

SYJTEM  0£^D^ATiON  AnvocATRn  RV  FRANTCT.TTJ           .  22 

I.  His  writings  on  education        .         .         .         .         .  22 


Viii  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

\S  2.  Self-education 22 

a.  Literary  and  debating  societies         ...  23 

,J&  Value  and  use  of  a  library        ....  24 

•vj  c.  Self-education  not  the  only  method          .        .  26 
•J    3.  Organized  schools   .         .         .         .         .         .         .26 

a.  Function  of  the  state  in  education    ...  26 

/;.  Schools  for  the  masses 28 

N-  c.  Function  of  the  church  in  education         .         .  29 

*    4.  The  curriculum 3° 

5.  Education  of  special  classes 41 

a.  Of  women 42 

^  b.  Of  orphans 44 

>J  c.  Of  negroes 45 

6.  Methods  of  teaching 46 

a.  Socratic    . 47 

b.  By  example      .                 49 

c.  By  comparison          .        .        .         .         .         -5° 

7.  The  ideal  teacher     .        , 51 


PART   II 

FRANKLIN'S  OWN  WRITINGS  ON  EDUCATION   ...  55 

1.  Plan  of  daily  examinations  in  moral  virtues     .         .  55 

2.  Father  Abraham's  speech 58 

3.  Proposals   relating   to    the   education  of  youth   in 

Pennsylvania 73 

4.  Sketch  of  an  English  school 86 

5.  Speech  in  the   Constitutional  Convention   at  the 

close  of  its  deliberations 9& 

6.  Motion  for  prayers  in  the  Constitutional  Convention  102 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

1.  The  Works  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  by  Jared  Sparks.  --> 

2.  The  Works  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  by  John  Bigelow.   Cb> 
-3.   Benjamin  Franklin  as  a  Man  of  Letters,  by  McMaster. 

4.  Benjamin  Franklin  as  an  American  Statesman,  by  J.  T. 

Morse,  Jr. 

5.  The  Many-sided  Franklin,  by  Paul  Leicester  Ford. 

6.  Benjamin  Franklin  and  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  by 

Francis  Newton  Thorpe. 

7.  Life  of  Franklin,  by  Jared  Sparks. 

8.  Tracts  of  the  American  Revolution,  P.  L.  R. 

9.  Character  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  by  Henry  D.  Gilpin,  P.  H.  S. 

10.  Life  and  Times  of  Franklin,  by  James  Parton,  P.  H.  S. 

11.  The  Beauties  of  Franklin,  by  Alfred  Howard,  P.  H.  S. 

12.  Sayings  of  Poor  Richard  (Prefaces,  Proverbs,  and  Poems), 

Paul  L.  Ford,  P.  H.  S. 

13.  Eulogiums  on  Dr.  Franklin,  by  Dr.  William  Smith,  P.L.  R. 

14.  Curious  and  Facetious  Letters  of  Franklin,  P.  H.  S. 

15.  The  Ideal  versus  the  Real  Franklin,  by  E.  D.  Neil,  P.  H.  S. 

1 6.  Benjamin  Franklin  as  an  Economist,  by  W.  A.  Wetzel,  P.  H.  S. 

ABBREVIATIONS 

P.  L.  R.  means  Philadelphia  Library,  Ridgeway  Branch. 
P.  H.  S.  means  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society. 
S.  means  Jared  Sparks. 
B.  means  John  Bigelow. 


PART   I 

FRANKLIN'S    EDUCATIONAL 
IDEAL 


BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN   AND 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

_  OF 

CHAPTER  I  " 
FRANKLIN'S  EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL 

POSSIBLY  no  other  practical  man  has  given  in 
his  writings  a  fuller  and  clearer  statement  of 
what  education  should  do  for  one  than  has 
Franklin.  This  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that 
he  was  what  is  generally  called  a  self-educated 
man.  ( And  self -education  with  him  was  a  defi 
nite,  conscious  means  of  realizing  in  himself  an 
Ideal,  which  Ideal  was  a  life  of  service,  and 
Abroad  enough  to  comprehend  the  whole  of  life/ 
To  properly  understand  his,  attitude  toward  the 
school  as  an  institution  and  toward  the  various 
subjects  in  the  curriculum,  as  well  as  his  views 
regarding  methods  of  learning  and  instructing, 
one  must  see  clearly  the  end,  or  aim,  that 
Franklin  would  have  the  student  reach. 

The   analysis   of   his  thoughts   of   life   as  & 
whole  shows  clearly  that  he  always  had  in  mind 
3 


4  FRANKLIN'S   EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL 

the  effect  in  after  life  of  each  present  act.  An 
illustration  of  this  is  his  comparison  of  life  with 

a  dramatic  piece,  which  he  said  should 
AiSe°f  not  onty  run  with  regularity  but  sbioul(f" 

end  handsomely ;  and  for  such  an 
ending  he  began  in  middle  life  to  cast  about, 
believing  that  in  such  an  enterprise  God  would 
give  him  success,  if  he  undertook  it  with  a  sin 
cere  regard  to  His  honor,  the  service  of  his 
gracious  King,  and  the  public  good.1  This 
carefully  regulated  life  was  to  be  one  of  service 
:o  mankind,  to  one's  country,  friends,  and  family ; 
and  the  idea__of_  such  ^service,  as  true  merit, 
should  be  often  explained  and  impre>e^d  on  the 
minds  of  youth.2  Every  word  of  tjiisy  aim  or 
purpose  of  life  rings  with  altruistic  utilitarianism. 
And  a  man  who  gave  himself  in  this  way  was 
wise  and  good,  and  it  was  upon  such  that  the 
strength  of  the  state  depended  rather  than  upon 
riches  and  armies.3  From  early  youth  till  his 
death  Franklin  kept  himself  under  the  mos': 
rigid  discipline  and  training  that  he  might  realize 
in  himselfthis.  lofty  ideal.  He  says  in  his  auto- 


1  To  George  Whitefield,  1756.     B.  II.  466. 

2  Proposals  relating  to  the.  Education  of  the  Youth  of  Pennsyl 
vania,  1749.     B.  I.  224. 

8  To  Dr.  Johnson.     B.  II.  204. 


FRANKLIN'S   EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL 


(  biography  j  that(at  the  age  of  twenty-six  he  con- 
^•-eeivctftHe  bold  and  arduous  project  of  arriving 
at  moral  perfection.)  In  this  plan  we  find  his 
simple,  practical  theory  of  morality.  Hejvished 
to  live  without  committing  any  fault  and"  to 
conquer  all  that  natural  inclination,  custom,  or 
company  might  lead  him  into.  Knowing  what 
was  right  and  what  was  wrong  he  believed  he 
could  form  the  habit  of  doing  the 
right,  and  in  the  self-denial  that  such 
a  course  necessitated  he  believed  that 
he  would  find  the  greatest  good  and  the  highest 
satisfaction.2  He  believed  that  a  man  should 
seek  happiness,  but  not  as  a  Hedonist;  the 
pleasures  of  sense  were  rather  to  be  despised, 
because  thevjtended  to  blight  the  higher  life. 
He  advocated  rational  pleasure  and  moral  good, 
which  were  to  be  found  in  acts  of  kindness, 
friendship,  generosity,  and  benevolence.  For," 
said  he,  that  kind  of  pleasure  lasts  to  the  end  of 
one's  being.  It  is  preservative  of  mankind  and 
produces  real  and  universal  happiness.  But  the 
self-denial  necessary  to  such  morality  was  not 
that  of  an  ascetic.  His  argument  regarding  the 

1  Sparks,  Life  of  Franklin,  p.  105. 

^  Dialogue  between  Horatio  and  Philodes,  1730.     S.  II.  46  ; 
B.  I.  383- 


6  FRANKLIN'S   EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL 

essence  of  virtue  is  to  show  that  there  is  virtue 
without  self-denial.1  Virtue  is  merit,  and"  the 
saints  in  heaven  who  are~free  from  temptation 
have  the  most  perfect  virtue.  Hence,  self-denial 
is  only  to  be  commended  when  it  is  applied  in  a 
good  sense,  in  an  act  of  service.  This  whole 
some  philosophy  of  life  is  found  in  most  all  of 
his  important  writings. 

All  the  world,  he  says,  seeks  happiness,  but 
by  different  methods.     There  are  two  principles 
that  guide  men  in  this  pursuit  —  one^passion,  the 
other  reason.2     Passion  often  chooses  evil,  but 
as  an  imaginary  good,  while  reason 
Governing    chooses  what  is  in  reality  good.     The 
Principles    quality  of   one's   happiness  depends 
upon  which   prevails  in  the  conflict 
between   these    two    principles.      Passions   are 
concerned  too  much  with  earthly  objects  to  givt 
us  composure  and  acquiescence  of  mind,  whik 
submission  to  the  will  of  Providence,  which  ih 
guidance  by  reason,  gives  true  happiness  and  i^ 
the  best  guard  against  the  evils  which  passion?. 
choose.X-A.  rational  being  finds  a  brighter  satis 
faction  in  the  expectation  of  the  things  of  the 

1  Self-denial  not  the  Essence  of  Virtue,  1734.    S.  II.  63  ;  B.  I. 
414. 

2  True  Happiness.     S.  II.  70  ;  B.  I.  422. 


FRANKLIN'S   EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL  7 

next  world  than  in  the  enjoyment  of  those  of 
the  present. 

His    method    of    self-discipline   whereby   he 
hoped  to  become  virtuous  and  "to  realize  this 
ideal  of  life  was  elaborate  and  comprehensive 
regarding  the  minutest  acts.     It  showed  clearly 
that  he  believed  one  becomes  virtuous  by  prac 
tising  the  virtues  —  by  acquiring  the 
habit  of  doing  right.     Mere  specula^^ttaining 
tive   conviction    that    it   was   to   our       Moral 

...  Perfection. 

interest  to  be  completely  virtuous  was 
not  sufficient  to  keep  us  from  slipping,  but  the 
contrary  habits  must  be  broken  and  good  ones 
acquired  before  we  can  have  any  dependence 
on  a  steady,  uniform  rectitude  of  conduct.  He 
made  a  list  of  thirteen  virtues  and  annexed  to 
each  a  precept  which  fully  expressed  the  extent 
which  he  gave  to  its  meaning.1  In  a  little  book 
which  he  always  carried  with  him  he  allotted  3! 
page  for  each  virtue,  and  each  day  he  graaedT 
him&elfy-concentrating  his  attention  for  a  weekT 
at  a  time  upon  a  single  virtue.  In  his  auto-  1 
biography,  written  late  in  life,  he  says  that  he 
kept  up  this  self-examination  for 


it  up  only  with  the  press  of  business,  though  he 
always  carried  the  little  book  with  him.     The| 

1  Sparks,  Autobiography  of  Franklin,  p.  106  ;  B.  I.  174. 


8  FRANKLIN'S   EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL 

extent  to  which  he  realized  the  moral  perfection 
which  he  hoped  that  this  scheme  would  give 
him,  is  told  admirably  in  his  own  words. 

"  It  may  be  well  my  posterity  should  be  in 
formed  that  to  this  little  artifice,  with  the  bless 
ing  of  God,  their  ancestor  owes  the  constant 
felicity  of  his  life  down  to  his  seventy-ninth 
year,  in  which  this  is  written.  Whatever  re 
verses  may  attend,  the  remainder  is  in  the  hand 
of  Providence  ;  but,  if  they  arrive,  the  reflection 
on  past  happiness  enjoyed  ought  to  help  his 
bearing  them  with  more  resignation." 

So  strongly  did  he  believe  in  the  efficacy  of 
this  method,  that  he  proposed  writing  a  book, 
to  be  called,  The  Art  of  Virtue,  in  which  he 
would  show  the  manner  and  means  of  attaining 
virtue.  He  intended  that  this  should  be  the 
greatest  work  of  his  life.  The  plan  of  it  is 
given  in  a  letter  to  Llord  Kames,2  written  when 
Franklin  was  fifty  years  old.  His  thesis  is: 
"  Most  people  have  naturally  some  virtues,  but 
none  have  naturally  all  the  virtues.  To  acquire 
those  that  are  wanting  and  to  secure  what  we 
acquire,  as  well  as  those  we  have  naturally,  is 
as  properly  an  art  as  painting,  navigation,  or 


Sparks,  Life  of  Franklin,  p.  114- 

To  Lord  Kames,  1760,  1761.     B.  III.  47»  X52- 


FRANKLIN'S   EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL 


architecture."  Hejrepeatedly  refers  to  this  book 
in  his  correspondence,  but  left  it  unfinished  at 
his  death. 

Intentionally  he  left  out  of  this  scheme  every 
mark  of  any  of  the  distinguishing  tenets  of  re 
ligious  sects,  because  he,  believing  so  strongly 
in  the  utility  and  excellency  of  it,  thought  that 
he  could  thereby  make  it  more  serviceable  to 
people  of  all  religions.  But  it  is  by  Religionan 
no  means  to  be  concluded  that  Frank-  Element 
lin  omitted  religion  from  his  ideal  ofhisldeal- 
man.  Though  in  early  life  a  deist,  he  soon  be 
gan  to  feel  the  inadequacy  of  such  a  belief  in  the  j 
dealings  between  man  and  man,  and  was  con 
vinced  that  truth,  sincerity,  and  integrity  were 
of  the  utmostjmportance  to  the  felicity  of  life.1 
And  while  he  never  accepted,  though  he  did  not 
deny,  the  doctrine  of  Revelation  nor  of  the  di 
vinity  of  Christ,  yet  he  was  religious  in  what 
he  thought  to  be  the  most  practical,  wholesome, 
and  ideal  way  —  a  religion  without  offence  to  any 
sect,  but  suggestive  to  all  in  its  simplicity  and 
saving  power  X  In  a  letter  to  a  friend  a  short 
time  before  his  death,  he  gave  his  creed  in  the 
following  simple  and  beautiful  lines  :  — 

"  I  believe  in  one  God,  the  creator  of  the  uni-  \/ 

1  Sparks,  Life  of  Franklin,  p.  76. 


IO  FRANKLIN'S   EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL 

verse.     That  He  governs  it  by  His  providence. 

That  He   ought  to   be  worshipped.     That  the 

I  most   acceptable   service   rendered   to    Him    is 

/  doing  good  to  His  other  children.    That  the  soul 

;    of  man  is  immortal,  and  will  be  treated  with 

!   justice  in  another  life  respecting  its  conduct  in 

this."  l 

These  were  the  main  principles  of  his  reli 
gion  —  a  religion  which  he  believed  would  be  a 
powerful  regulator  of  ourjactions,  give  us  peace 
and  tranquillity  within  our  minds,  and  render 
us  benevolent,  useful,  and  beneficial  to  others.2 
The  following  instance  is  strong  proof  of  his 
faith  in  the  guiding  hand  of  a  divine  Provi 
dence.  It  is  his  famous  motion  for  prayers  in 
the  convention  that  framed  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States.3  In  the  deliberations  of 
that  body  no  agreement  could  be  reached  on 
most  of  the  questions ;  the  convention  had  sought 
models  of  government  in  ancient  forms,  but  had 
found  none  suited  to  their  needs.  "Why  not 
go  now  to  the  Father  of  Lights,"  asked  Frank 
lin,  "to  illuminate  our  understanding?  In  the 

1  To  Ezra  Stiles,  1790.     S.  X.  422;   B.  X.  192. 

2  Lecture  on  the  Providence  of  God  in  the  Government  of  the 
World.     B.  VII.  489. 

8  B.  IX.  428  ;   S.  V.  153. 


FRANKLIN'S  EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL  II 

beginning  of  our  conflict  with  Great  Britain  we 
offered  up  daily  prayers  to  Him,  and  these  were 
heard  and  answered."  The  longer  he  lived,  he 
said,  the  more  convincing  proof  he  saw  that 
God  governs  in  the  affairs  of  men.  However, 
it  must  be  admitted  that,  both  in  a  theoretical 
sense  and  in  its  practical  workings,  his  religion 
was  very  different  from  that  of  the  orthodox 
sects  of  his  day.1  The  utilitarian  turn  of  his  ^ 
mind  led  him  to  attempt  to  adapt  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer  to  the  needs  of  the  old,  sick, 
and  young  who  could  not  find  it  prudent  or  con 
venient  to  attend  service.  Though  no  practical 
use  was  ever  made  of  this  book,  yet  it  helps  us 
to  see  that  his  religious  nature  was  always 
turned  toward  the  people  who  were  in  need  of 
service. 

With  this  view  of  his  ideal  man  before  us,  we 
look  to  see  to  what  extent  Franklin  realized  it 
in  his  own  life.     A  quotation  from  a  letter  to  a 
friend,2   when    Franklin   was    in   his        Ideal 
seventy-eighth    year,   is    a   beautiful    realized  in 

.  r        himself. 

summary  of   his  own  conception  ot 

what   his   life  had  been.      He    had    "enemies 

as  an  American,"  he  said,  "  enemies  as  a  minis-    v 

1  B.  v.  274. 

2  To  John  Jay,  1784.     S.  X.  52  ;   B.  VIII.  425. 


12  FRANKLIN'S   EDUCATIONAL  IDEAI' 

ter,  but  not  as  a  man.  No  human  being  exists 
who  can  say,  '  Benjamin  Franklin  has  wronged 
me.'  " 

Duke  de  la  Rochefoucauld,  an  eminent 
Frenchman,  in  a  letter  to  Franklin,1  charac 
terized  him  as  a  "  philosopher  whose  genius 
has  thrown  light  upon  physical  and  political 
science,  has  taught  what  liberty  is,  and  how  we 
may  acquire  and  preserve  it,  who  knows  the 
-  value  of  friendship,  who  can  judge  himself  with 
\  th^s^me^impjJiiality  with  which  he  can  judge 
others." 

Washington's  conception  of  what  Franklin 
had  realized  in  himself  is  told  in  a  letter  to 
him.2  "  If  to  be  venerated  for  benevolence,  if 
to  be  admired  for  talents,  if  to  be  esteemed  for 
patriotism,  if  to  be  beloved  for  philanthropy, 
can  gratify  the  human  mind,  you  must  have  the 
pleasing  consolation  to  know  that  you  have  not 
lived  in  vain." 

Morse,  in  his  Benjamin  Franklin,  an  Ameri 
can  Statesman?  says :  "  If  we  can  imagine  a 
circumference  whiciusjiall  express  humanity ;  we 
can  place~within  it  no  one  man  who  will  reach 

1  To  Franklin,  1788.     S.  X.  354  ;   B.  X.  2. 

2  Washington  to  Franklin,  ^89.     S.  X.  396  ;  B.  X.  148. 
8  J.  T.  Morse,  Benjamin  Franklin,  p.  420. 


FRANKLIN'S   EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL  13 

out  to  approaqk_it-a»4-4e-touch  it  at  so  many 
points  as  will  Franklin." 

His  great  ambition  was  to  benefit  mankind, 
and  every  moment  that  could  be  taken  from  his 
public  service  was  spent  in  devising  something 
to  promote  the  general  welfare.  He  founded, 
libraries,  organized  societies,  started  schools./  . 
wrote,  gave  counsel,  money,  inventions,  —  every 
thing  that  his  hand  or  brain  could^prDduce,  — 
that  humanity  might  be  blessed.  Possibly  no  one 
has  ever  lived  who,  relative  to  his  own  time  of 
life,  has  ever-  done  more  than  Franklin  for  man-  / 
kind.  Yet,  there  wasjjjjarkef  side  to  his  life.— 
some  habits  he  had  not  succeeded  in  breaking,  >J 
notwithstanding  his  high  ideal  and  all  his  rigid 
self-discipline.  He  wrote  some  things  that  were 
not  pure  in  thought,  and  violated  some  virtues 
which  he  considered  so  essential  to  a  moral  life. 
But  this  was  not  the  Franklin  that  he  wanted  to 
be,  and  not  the  Franklin  that  lives  to-day  in  the 
many  institutions  founded  by  him,  or  in  accord 
with  his  ideals.  And  the  criticisms  made  upon 
him  by  his  enemies  while  he  lived,  and  by  some 
present  students  of  his  life,  are  certainly  too 
severe  in  the  light  of  the  tremendous  force  for 
good  that  Franklin  was  in  his  own  day  and  will 
continue  to  be  till  time  is  no  more. 


14  FRANKLIN'S   EDUCATIONAL   IDEAL 

With  this  ideal  and  its  partial  realization  in 
his  own  life,  Franklin  was  severe  and  at  times 
rather  pessimistic  in  his  estimate  of  people  in 
general.  His  keen  desire  to  improve  their  con- 
Estimate  dition  made  him  study  them  as  to 
of  their  nature,  their  tendency,  and  their 
possibilities,  and  he  found  much  that 
was  not  good.1  He  says  that  he  found  more 
pleasure  in  studying  the  inanimate  works  of 
nature  than  the  animate  or  moral  part,  which 
disgusted  him  more  and  more.  He  found  men 
to  be  a  sort  of  beings,  very  badly  constructed, 
as  they  are  generally  more  easily  provoked  than 
reconciled,  more  disposed  to  do  mischief  to  each 
other  than  to  make  reparation,  much  more  easily 
deceived  than  undeceived,  and  having  more 
pride  and  even  pleasure  in  killing  than  in  be 
getting  one  another.  In  an  essay,  The  Hand 
some  and  Deformed  Leg?  he  divides  the 
world  into  two  parts,  both  of  which  start  with 
equal  health,  wealth,  and  comforts  of  life ;  one 
becomes  happy,  the  other  miserable.  This  is 
due  to  the  different  views  they  take  of  persons 
and  things.  All  things,  he_&ays,  have  both  a 
good  and  a  bad  side,  but  one /class  have  formed 

1  To  Joseph  Priestly,  1782.     S.  1X7^25  ;  B.  VII.  464. 

2  The  Handsome  and  Deformed  Leg.     S.  II.  186  ;  B.  VI.  253. 


FRANKLIN'S   EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL  15 

the  habit  of  being  bad  through  the  continuous 
imitation  of  the  bad  which  they  see  in  life  about 
them.  They  have  perverted  their  nature,  which 
was  originally  good.  His  admonition  to  such 
was  to  change  their  habits,  as  otherwise  no  one 
could  ever  love  them. 

But  regarding  peoples'  opinions,  he  was  more 
charitable,1  and  was  tolerant  almost  to  a  fault. 
An  illustration  of  this  fact  is  found  in  a  letter 
to  his  son  William,  who  had  broken  with  his 
father  because  he  had  conceived  that  Tolerant  of 
his  duty  to  his  king  and  regard  for  others' 
his  country  required  it.  In  a  letter  °Plnlons- 
replying  to  the  son's  request  to  renew  the  affec 
tionate  intercourse,  Franklin  says,  "  I  ought  not 
to  blame  you  for  differing  in  sentiment  with  me 
in  public  affairs,  for  our  opinions  are  not  in  our 
own  hands,  they  are  formed  and  governed  much 
by  circumstances  that  are  often  as  inexplicable 
as  they  are  irresistible." 

Notwithstanding  this  adverse  criticism  Frank- 
lin  loved  humanity,  believed  in  it,  and  trusted 
it.2  He  found  a  saving  element  in  every  char 
acter,  an  innate  power,  which,  when' directed  by 
reason,  would  lead  each  soul  into  a  happy  life. 

1  To  William  Franklin,  17.     S.  X.  121  ;  B.  IX.  43. 

2  Poem  on  Ambition,  Almanac  1758.     P.  L.  R. 


1 6  FRANKLIN'S   EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL 

Every  one  at  some  time  felt  the  impelling  power 

of  ambition,  which,  if  Heaven  directed,  would 

Charitable     ma^e  the  individual  both  good  and 

Feeling  for    great.     A  wise  ambition,  through  in- 

imamty.  ^ustry,  awakens  nature's  powers  and 
adds  some  new-born  grace  each  day.  These 
struggles  are  first  for  selfish  ends,  but  nature 
inspires  thoughts  for  others  which  manifest 
themselves  as  love  for  family  and  then  for 
friends.  If  this  friendship  be  cherished  for 
mutual  ends,  then  it  ripens  into  charity,  which 
is  love  for  all  mankind,  the  highest  service  to 
one's  maker.  This  is  the  possibility  which  he 
saw  in  mankind,  and  he  sought  to  lay  hold  on  it 
and  to  help  to  make  it  easier  for  each  individual 
to  do  something  for  himself,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  do  something  for  his  fellow-men.  This 
/  problem  was  more  laj^eJ^L^^iindividual  one 
with  Franklin  than  it  was  with  almost  any  one 
else  who  has  written  on  education.  This  ac 
counts  mainly  for  the  difference  between  the 
school  system  advocated  by  him  and  that  of 
his  illustrious  contemporaries,  John  Adams  and 
Thomas  Jefferson. 

His  practical  insight  into  human  nature  con 
vinced  him  that  most  men  were  guided  T>y 
utilitarian  and  material  ends,  and  that  they  could 


FRANKLIN'S  EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL  I/ 

best  be  reached  and  controlled  by  an  appeal  to 
such  motives.     This  accounts  for  the  utilitarian 
philosophy  in  all  of   his  moral   and      Motives 
economic  writings  and  especially  in        that 
the   prefaces,    proverbs,    and   poems      J^™d.  - 
in    Poor    Richard's    Almanac.      He 
found  men  idle,  and  he  told  them  in  material 
terms   the  consequences    of   it;  he    saw    them 
puffed  up  with  pride,  and  he  showed  them  its 
ruinous  course  ;  he  saw  them  running  into  debt, 
and  he  pictured  them  as  slaves  to  their  creditors. 
He  filled  their  minds  with  proverbs  on  industry, 
frugality,   and   prudence,   to   guide   and   impel 
them  to  make  the  proper  use  °ft£eir  time' their 
strength,  and  their  aspiration,  ^hese  were  the 
concrete   statements    of    the   principles   which 
made  up  Franklin's  ideal  —  a  homely  philoso 
phy  suited  to  the  needs  of   the  people  of   his 
tjme  —  of  all  time,  though  narrowly  interpreted 
by  some  as  materialistic  utilitarianism, 

The  sayings  of  poor  Richard  after  twenty- 
five  years  of  promiscuous  use  were  gathered 
together  into  Franklin's  masterpiece,  Father 
Abrahams  Speech.^  This  little  classic  is  an 
infallible  guide  to  material  success  to  a  member 
of  any  class  or  profession.  With  such  success 

1  Father  Abraham 's  Speech,  Almanac  1 758.  P.  L.  R. ;  B.  I.  441. 


1 8  FRANKLIN'S  EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL 

Franklin  believed  and  taught  would  come  the 
higher  or  moral  success  which  his  ideal  called 

Franklin's     f°r*        ThUS    WG    haVC  before    us    the 

Guide       ideal  Franklin,  and  the  real  Frank- 

lin>  and  the  world  of  humanity  as 
he  believed  it  to  be  —  humanity  as 
he  loved  it,  trusted  it,  and  gave  his  life  for  it. 
In  the  light  of  this  we  look  with  interest  to  see 
what  were  the  means  and  methods  advocated 
by  him  for  the  education  of  mankind.  Bearing 
upon  this  point  it  is  most  necessary  to  sketch 
briefly  his  own  education. 

He  entered  a  Boston  grammar  school  at  the 

age  of  eight,  and  in  one  year  passed  through 

two  classes. l     He  had  learned  to  read  so  early 

that  he  had  no  recollection  of  when  he  could 

'HOW  he      not   read-      Before   the   end    of    the 

was        year  he  was  taken  from  this  school 

and   put   into    a    private   school   for 

writing  and  arithmetic,  where,  under  a  skilful 

master,  he   learned  to  write  a  good  hand,  but 

failed  completely  in  arithmetic.     At  ten  years 

of  age  he  began  work  with  his  father  in  the 

business  of  tallow-chandler  and  soap-boiler  and 

remained  there  until  twelve  years  of  age,  when 

he  was  apprenticed  to  his  brother  to  learn  the 

1  Sparks,  Life  of  Franklin,  Chap.  I. 


FRANKLIN'S  EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL  19 

printer's  trade.  In  this  apprenticeship  he  con 
tinued  till  he  was  seventeen  years  old.  From 
his  infancy,  he  says  that  he  was  passioriately 
fond  of  reading,  and  spent  all  the  money  he 
could  get  for  books.  The  books  he  read  dur 
ing  these  years  of  apprenticeship  were  his  real 
teachers.  The  important  ones  were  :  Bunyan's 
Pilgrim's  Progress,  Burton's  Historical  Collec 
tions,  Plutarch's  Lives,  Defoe's  An  Essay  on 
'Projects,  Cotton  Mather's  An  Essay  to  do  Good, 
Addison's  Spectator,  Cocker's  Arithmetic,  Seller 
&  Sturny's  Navigation,  Locke's  Human  Under 
standing,  the  Port  Royal  Art  of  Thinking, 
Greenwood's  English  Grammar,  Xenophon's 
Memorable  Things  of  Socrates,  Tryon  on  Vege 
table  Diet,  Shaftesbury,  Collins.  He  also  says 
that  his  father  often  had  some  sensible  friend 
or  neighbor  at  the  table  to  converse  with  and 
took  care  to  have  the  conversation  turn  upon 
useful  topics  to  improve  the  minds  of  his  chil 
dren,  and  in  this  way  taught  them  what  was 
good,  and  just,  and  prudent  in  the  conduct  of. 
life.  By  conversing,  disputing,  arguing,  and 
debating  with  another  bookish  lad  he  was  led 
to  inform  himself  on  various  topics,  and  by 
writing  out  his  arguments  to  improve  his  style. 
At  this  time  a  volume  of  Addison's  Spectator 


2O  FRANKLIN'S  EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL 

fell  into  his  hands  and  became  at  once  his  mas 
ter  and  instructor  in  composition.  He  wrote 
poems  and  sketches  for  his  brother's  paper,  and 
in  this  way  gained  some  confidence  in  his  ability 
to  write.  Then  followed  a  year  in  New  York 
City  in  the  printer's  business,  where  he  formed 
the  acquaintance  of  a  group  of  young  people 
who  were  lovers  of  reading,  with  whom  he  spent 
his  evenings.1  The  next  eighteen  months  he 
spent  in  London,  where,  aside  from  his  business, 
he  attended  plays  and  read  books,  thereby  in 
creasing  his  knowledge.  Then  he  went  to  Phil 
adelphia,2  where  he  made  his  home  for  life, 
except  during  the  years  of  public  service  abroad, 
and  there  continued  the  same  methods  of  edu 
cation,  and  added  to  them  the  famous  Junto,  a 
literary  and  debating  club,  organized  for  the 
mutual  improvement  of  Franklin  and  a  few 
favorite  acquaintances.  There  they  discussed 
questions  of  morals,  politics,  philosophy,  poetry, 
history,  and  science.  This,  then,  wasffnetrain- 
ing  he  had  for  the  social,  literary,  and  political 
life  which  he  lived  so  intensely  and  with  such 
great  blessing  to  mankind.  His  was  a  school 
in  which  he  was  both  master  and  student  —  he 
found  the  subject-matter  and  determined  the 

1  Sparks,  Life  of  Franklin,  Chap.  II.      2  Ibid.,  Chap.  III. 


UNIVERSITY 

\.  or  s 

X^^Hg^X 

FRANKLIN'S  EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL  21 

method.  It  was  an  education  for  life.  By 
reading,  he  unlocked  the  storehouses  of  the  wis 
dom  of  all  people ;  by  conversing,  arguing,  and 
debating,  he  learned  to  be  at  ease  with  his  fel 
low-men  ;  by  writing,  he  learned  to  organize  and 
enrich  his  knowledge  and  to  direct  the  thoughts 
of  others ;  by  his  trade  apprenticeship,  he  came 
close  to  life  and  learned  to  love  the  struggling 
masses,  and  acquired  that  deep  interest  in  tech 
nical  training  which  became  the  vital  element  in 
his  educational  scheme. 


CHAPTER  II 

SYSTEM  OF  EDUCATION  ADVOCATED  BY  FRANKLIN 

THE  sources  in  which  are  found  in  the  most 
finished  form  Franklin's  recommendations  for 
the  organization  of  education  are :  The  Rules 
His  Writings  governing  the  Junto  ;  Proposals  relat- 
on  ing  to  the  Education  of  Youth  in 
Education.  pennsyivania  .  Sketch  of  an  English 
School ;  Observations  concerning  the  Intentions 
of  the  Original  Founders  of  the  Philadelphia 
Academy.  Other  valuable  ideas  and  explana 
tions  are  found  in  minor  treatises  and  in  letters 
to  friends. 

Franklin,  being  himself  self-educated,  advo 
cated  a  system  whereby  each  individual  could 
so  utilize  the  sources  and  forces  about  him  that 
in  so  doing  he  would  become  learned 
of  Eduction  and  useful.     It  was  just  the  system 
advocated     by  which  he  had  educated  himself. 
He  believed  that  a  man  by  his  own 
^fforts   could   reach   perfection   in  almost   any 
art    This  we  have  set  forth  in  the  discussion  of 
22 


HIS  SYSTEM   OF  EDUCATION  23 

-L- 

his  plan  for  attaining  to  moral  perfection.  His 
altruism  led  him  to  give  to  others  whatever  he 
had  found  useful  to  himself,  and  his  utilitarian 
ism  led  him  to  seek  from  others  what  could  be 
made  of  use  to  himself.  This  idea  took  shape  " 
in  the  Junto,1  a  literary  and  debating  club  or 
ganized  by  him  when  he  was  twenty-two  years 
old,  for  the  purpose  of  applying  his  principles 
of  self -education  in  a  cooperative  way.  I^je  im 
portance  of  mutual  aid  was  strongly  , 

.       .  °  J     Literary  and 

emphasized  in  the  rules  governing  the  Debating 
club.  Every  member  was  required  to  Society- 
propose  queries  for  discussion,  and  periodically 
to  produce  and  read  an  essay  of  his  own  writing 
upon  some  subject  of  interest  to  him.  The  de 
bates  were  conducted  in  the  sincere  spirit  of 
inquiry  after  truth,  and  members  were  prohib 
ited,  by  small  pecuniary  penalties,  from  indulg- 
ing  in  offensive  personalities,  trifling  disputes,  or 
strivings  for  victory.  This  club  continued  for 
nearly  forty  years,  and  was,  according  to  Frank 
lin's  judgment,  the  best  school  of  philosophy, 
morality,  and  politics  that  then  existed  in  the 
province.  What  he  felt  in  after  life  that  he  had 
gotten  from  this  method  of  training  was  a  thor 
ough,  systematic  habit  of  reading  and  the  better 

1  Sparks,  Life  of  Franklin,  p.  81.     B.  I.  319^ 


24  FRANKLIN'S  EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL 

habits  of  conversation,  through  the  close  observ 
ance  of  the  rules  which  might  prevent  the  mem 
bers  from  displeasing  each  other.  The  debating 
method  of  the  Junto  is  made  prominent  in  the 
plan  for  an  English  school,  to  be  noticed  later. 
The  Junto  itself  has  developed  into  the  Ameri 
can  Philosophical  Society,  which  has  its  offices 
and  library  at  Philadelphia— a  living  monument 
of  Franklin,  a  far-reaching  and  broadening  influ 
ence  upon  present  thought  and  action. 

No  other  writer  has  ever  exemplified  in  his  own 
life  or  attached  more  importance  in  his  writings 
to  the  value  of  a  good  book  as  a  means  of  edu 
cation.  Through  them  the  best  thoughts  of  the 
best  writers  may  be  conveyed  to  the  minds  of 
youth  in  such  a  way  as  to  inform  them  and  in 
fluence  them  for  lifeH-By  the  cooperative  method 
i  e  and  of  the  Junto  a  common  library  was 
Use  of  built  up  for  its  members,  whereby 
a  Library.  each  member  loaned  his  books  for 
general  use.  Out  of  this  idea  gi^ew  up  a  sub 
scription  library  for  Philadelphia.1  )  Reading  be 
came  fashionable,  and  the  people  became  better 
acquainted  with  books,  till  within  a  few  years 
they  were  better  instructed  and  more  intelligent 
than  the  people  of  the  same  rank  generally  in 

i  Sparks,  Life  of  Franklin,  p.  99. 


HIS   SYSTEM   OF  EDUCATION  25 

other  countries.  So  important  a  means  of  edu 
cation  he  believed  the  library  to  be,  that  he  said 
if  one  would  read  on  any  subject  a  few  hours 
each  day  he  would  within  a  few  years  become 
educated.  .  The  extent  to  which  this  method  has 
become  a  vital  one  in  the  education  of  to-day  is 
attested  by  the  thousands  of  both  subscription 
and  public  libraries  in  the  schools  and  cities  of 
this  country. ^In  advocating  the  use  of  a  library, 
Franklin  is  not  original  in  the  idea,  for  libraries 
and  their  value  had  been  a  favorite  theme  of 
writers  on  education  for  several  centuries,  and 
with  these  writers  he  was  well  acquainted,  as  is 
shown  in  his  autobiography  and  by  an  analysis  of 
his  writings ;  but  nevertheless  he  does  deserve 
the  credit  of  understanding  the  tremendous 
power  of  the  library  as  an  educational  factor, 
and  of  having  the  practical  ability  to  put  one 
within  the  reach  of  the  masses,  that  they  might 
become  informed,  might  acquire  habits  of  men 
tal  industry,  and  might  form  strong  characters 
through  contact  with  the  souls  of  the  books. 

We  have  given  first  his  scheme  for  the  edu 
cation  of  those  who,  like  himself,  are  deprived 
of  a  school  training  —  a  method  whereby  they 
may  to  some  degree  repair  that  loss.1  We  have 

1  Sparks,  Life  of  Franklin,  p.  101. 


26  FRANKLIN'S  EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL 

now  to  present  his  plan  for  the  education  of  the 

more  favored  class.      He  did  not  believe  that 

self-education  was  the  best,  but  that 

Self-educa-    . 

,  /      tion  not      it  was  the  best  possible  substitute  for 
the  only      a  training  by  a  master  —  a  substitute 
that  it  was  possible  for  every  individ 
ual  to  avail  himself  of.     Also  it  is  important  to 
note   that   this    method   of   education   goes   on 
throughout  life  and  that  it  is  both  a  vital  part 
and  a  continuation  of  the  systematic  training  to 
be   given  to  the   more   fortunate   through   the 
schools  proposed  by  him. 

Nowhere  in  his  writings  did  he  have  in  mind 
a  government  system  of  public  schools,  and 
there  were  no  such  in  his  day  in  this  country. 
In  his  own  province  the  only  school  that  was  in 
any  sense  public  was  the  Penn  Charter  school,1 

Function  of  founded  in  l69s>  and  which  at  the 
the  state  in  time  of  Franklin's  proposed  scheme 

Education.     f()r    the    education    of    the    youth    of 

Pennsylvania  had  admitted  the  children  of  all 
parents  who  applied.  The  nearest  approach  to 
a  state  system  of  public  schools  was  the  com 
pulsory  schools  of  Massachusetts,  established  in 
1648,  though  that  was  not  a  system  of  free 
schools,  but  was  supported  by  individual  tuition. 

1  Boone,  Education  in  the  U.  S.,  Chap.  III. 


HIS   SYSTEM   OF   EDUCATION  27 

However,  Franklin  did  recognize  the  govern 
ment's  interest  in  the  education  of  its  citizens 
and  strongly  urged  the  duty  upon  the  state,  but  : 
his  idea  of  state  aid  was  through  donations  and  j 
endowments.1  The  idea  of  a  central  govern 
ment,  determining  and  directing  through  a  sys 
tem  of  taxation  the  schools  of  the  entire  country, 
was  contrary  to  Franklin's  nature,  education, 
training,  or  philosophy  of  government.  It  was  ^ 
the  true  interest  of  this  country,  as  expressed  in  / 
his  favorite  phrase,  "  general  welfare,"  and  not 
the  life  of  the  state,  as  such,  that  concerned  him 
in  planning  for  the  education  of  youth.  He 
recites  that  the  good  .education  of  youth  has 
been  esteemed  by5  wise  men  in  all  ages  as  the 
surest  foundation  of  the  happiness,  not  only  of 
private  families,  but  of  the  commonwealths  — 
that  all  governments  had  therefore  made  it  a 
principal  object  of  their  attention  to  establish 
and  endow  such  seminaries  of  learning  as  might 
supply  the  succeeding  ages  with  men  qualified 
to  serve  the  public  with  honor  to  themselves 
and  to  their  country.  The  state  should  grant 
charters  to  educational  institutions  that  they 
might  be  conducted  according  to  the  same  busi 
ness  principles  as  govern  other  corporate  bodies, 

1  Education  of  Youth  in  Pa.    S.  I.  569. 


28  FRANKLIN'S  EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL 

and  he  also  advised  some  system  of  government 
inspection  to  guard  against  their  mismanage 
ment.1  And  it  is  worthy  of  notice  that  the 
national  government  has  not  to  this  day  gone 
much  beyond  Franklin's  idea  regarding  a  state 
system,  but  has  left  the  organization  and  sup 
port  to  the  local  commonwealths,  using  her 
power  only  to  aid  and  encourage  through  appro 
priation  of  funds  where  most  needed. 

The  plan  proposed  for  the  organization  of  the 
Philadelphia  Academy  is  what  he  believed  could 
be  used  by  all  communities  for  general  educa 
tional  purposes.  The  Academy  was  chartered 
by  the  governor  and  placed  under  the  control 
0  .  .  ,.  of  a  Board  of  Trustees.  Its  support 

Subscription 

School  for     came  from  private  subscription,  from 
the  Masses.    tuitionSj  ancj   from   endowments.     It 

was  only  for  those  who  could  pay  for  the  in 
struction,  though  two  years  later  a  free  school 
was  attached  to  the  Academy.  This  free  school 
he  approved  of  as  a  means  of  teaching  reading, 
writing,  and  arithmetic  to  poor  children  from 
eight  to  thirteen  years  of  age  who  would  other 
wise  probably  never  have  attended  any  other 
school.  But  this  free  school  was  paid  for  by 

*  Hints  for  Consideration  Respecting  the  Orphan  School- 
house  in  Philadelphia.  S.  II.  159. 


HIS  SYSTEM  OF  EDUCATION  29 

private  subscriptions  or  by  profits  on  the  tuition 
school. 

He  believed  that  schools  for  public  education 
should  be  free  from  church  interference,  and 
should  be  non-sectarian  in  every  respect.  The 
school  should  be  supported  by  all  churches  alike, 
and  no  church  should  have  a  majority 

Function 

on  the  Board  of  Trustees,  lest  one  sect  Of  the 
should  get  control  of  the  school  and 
pervert  it  from  its  original  purpose.1 
The  lessons  on  morality  outlined  by  him  as  a 
part  of  the  curriculum  were  such  as  could  be 
indorsed  by  every  sect,  though  they  fell  short 
of  what  could  be  called  religious  instruction. 
The  nearest  approach  to  religious  instruction 
was  in  the  lessons  that  he  would  draw  from 
history,  showing  the  necessity  of  a  public  reli 
gion,  the  advantage  of  a  religious  character,  and 
the  excellency  of  the  Christian  religion  above 
all  others.2  His  attitude  was  in  strict  accord 
with  the  spirit  of  the  founders  of  this  country  j 
and  has  been  to  no  extent  deviated  from  to  this 
day.  This  idea  prevails  in  most  every  school  4 
district  in  the  entire  country. 

Naturally  one  would  think  that  a  man  who 

1  Sparks,  Life  of  Franklin,  p.  159. 

2  Proposals  for  an  Academy. 


3O  FRANKLIN'S  EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL 

had  read  so  broadly  as  Franklin  had,  had  advo 
cated  so  strongly  the  universal  use  of  a  library, 
and  had  touched  life  itself  in  so  many  phases 

would  recommend  a  curriculum  that 
Curriculum.    was  both  broad   an^   practical.     He 

would  also  be  expected,  from  what 
has  been  said  regarding  his  views  of  life,  to  give 
a  large  place  to  the  ethical  elements  in  subjects, 
but  to  place  no  stress  upon  religion.  And  in  a 
choice  between  a  general  course  and  a  technical 
one  he  would,  as  a  result  of  his  own  apprentice 
ship,  and  his  utilitarian  philosophy,  give  prefer- 
;  ence  to  those  subjects  that  best  prepared  for  the 
professions.  An  examination  of  his  three  main 
treatises  on  this  subject  will  show  that  he  was 
consistent  with  these  principles.  These  sources 
are :  Proposals  Relating  to  the  Education  of 
Youth  in  Pennsylvania,  written  in  1749;  Sketch 
of  an  English  School,  written  in  1 749 ;  Observa 
tions  Concerning  the  Original  Intentions  of  the 
Founders  of  the  Philadelphia  Academy,  written 
in  1789. 

The  first  was  a  plan  for  the  organization  of 
an  academy,  and  it  contained  a  discussion  of 
the  purpose  of  education,  the  value  of  the  vari 
ous  subjects  in  the  curriculum,  the  methods  of 
teaching  these  subjects,  and  attached  quotations 


HIS   SYSTEM   OF  EDUCATION  31 

from  the  writers  on  education  which  he  had 
studied  in  preparing  his  recommendation.  The 
effect  of  these  writers  in  determining  his  ideal 
is  glaringly  apparent.  The  second  source  was 
written  just  before  the  opening  of  the  Academy, 
and  was  read  at  the  opening  by  the  principal ; 
it  was  a  detailed  syllabus  of  the  work  for  each 
of  the  six  grades  of  the  school.  The  third  was 
a  protest  against  the  discrimination  of  the  Trus 
tees  of  the  Academy  against  the  English  school. 
It  is  valuable  because  it  is  a  close  analysis  of 
his  ideas  contained  in  the  first  source,  and  was 
written  just  at  the  close  of  his  life  and  when 
forty  years'  test  had  been  made  of  his  first  rec 
ommendations. 

Regarding  the  subjects,  he  says  it  would  be 
well  if  everything  useful  and  everything  orna 
mental  could  be  taught;  but  since  time  is  so 
short,  it  is  therefore  proposed  that  only  those 
things  that  are  likely  to  bejnost  useful  and  most 
ornamental  be  taught,  especial  regard  being  had 
for  those  who  prepare  for  any  business,  calling, 
or  profession.  He  had  in  mind  an  English 
school  that  would  be  adapted  to  this  country, 
although  with  the  language  modification  it  would 
be  equally  suited  to  any  country.  Whatever  of 
the  classical  languages  was  recommended  was 


32  FRANKLIN'S  EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL 

due  to  a  compromise  with  the  learned  gentle 
men  whose  subscriptions  and  countenance  were 
needed  in  opening  the  school.1  This  compro 
mise  gave  rise  in  the  Academy  to  two  parallel 
schools,  the  English  and  the  Latin.  The  friends 
to  the  classical  languages  were  the  wealthy  and 
learned  few,  but  they  were  aggressive  and  soon 
succeeded  in  gaining  for  Latin  and  Greek  the 
greatest  favor  from  the  Trustees,  to  such  an  ex 
tent  that  the  English  school  declined  in  value 
till  many  parents,  after  protesting  in  vain,  took 
their,  children  out  of  the  Academy  and  put  them 
into  private  schools  where  they  might  get  an 
English  education.  Franklin  saw  in  this  condi 
tion  the  best  proof  that  his  original  idea  of  an 
English  school  was  the  kind  most  desired  and 
most  needed  by  the  people,  consequently  he 
protested  against  the  change,  in  the  interest  of 
:  posterity.  That  he  had  the  modern  point  of 
;•  view  is  attested  by  the  many  Manual  Training, 
I;  Industrial,  and  Technical  Schools  all  over  the 
jland,  that  give  no  place  to  the  classical  lan 
guages.  He  anticipated  enough  of  modern  psy 
chology  to  account  for  the  continuance  of  Latin 
and  Greek  in  the  schools  on  the  basis  of  the 
theory  of  habit.  There  is  in  mankind,  he  says, 

1  Sparks,  Life  of  Franklin,  p.  133. 


HIS  SYSTEM  OF  EDUCATION  33 

an  unaccountable  prejudice  in  favor  of  ancient 
customs  and  habitudes,  which  inclines  to  a  con 
tinuance  of  them  after  the  circumstances  which 
formerly  made  them  useful  cease  to  exist  — 
their  continuance  is  the  chapeau  bras  of  modern 
literature.  This  point  of  view  is  not  due  to  a 
lack  of  knowledge  of  languages,  for  he  had  a 
fairly  good  working  knowledge  of  Latin,  knew 
some  Italian  and  Spanish,  and  was  at  ease  in 
reading,  writing,  and  talking  French.1  He 
recommended  that  the  languages  be  offered  only 
as  electives  and  on  conditon  that  the  English 
subjects  should  not  be  neglected. 

The  subjects  of  the  curriculum  were  English 
grammar,  rhetoric,  composition,  public  speak 
ing,  English  authors,  geography,  chronology, 
natural  philosophy,  ancient  customs,  morality, 
history,  classical  and  modern  languages  (as  elec 
tives),  history  of  commerce.  Many  of  those 
terms  had  not  the  same  content  that  is  given  to 
them  to-day,  but  that  will  be  made  clear  in  the 
discussion  of  each  in  particular. 

It  is  strikingly  noticeable  that  no  comment  is 
made  on  mathematics,  in  these  sources,  as  a  sep 
arate  subject,  but  only  as  a  part  of  such  branches 
as  geography,  natural  science,  and  other  sub- 

1  Sparks,  Life  of  Franklin,  p.  126, 


34  FRANKLIN'S  EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL 

jects  requiring  mathematical  exactness;  these 
facts  were  to  be  taught  by  the  special  teacher  of 
mathematics.  However,  he  attached  the  high 
est  importance  to  this  subject  on  both  the  arith 
metical  and  geometrical  side.  Several  years 
before  the  preparation  of  the  plan  for  a  school, 
he  wrote  a  paper  on  the  Usefulness  of  Mathe 
matics,1  in  which  he  emphasized  the  commercial 
value  of  arithmetic  by  noting  that  no  business 
can  be  carried  on  without  the  assistance  of  num 
bers,  and  that  no  scientist  can  do  his  work  with 
out  it.  The  kind  of  arithmetic  he  would  have 
taught  is  what  is  termed  to-day  business^-or 
commercial  arithmetic  —  that  kind  that  had 
directly  in  view  the  student's  functioning  in 
society.  It  was  to  be  taught  in  connection  with 
other  subjects  in  order  that  the  child  might  feel 
his  need  of  it  and  thereby  appreciate  it. 

His  idea  about  geometry  was  of  the  same  prac 
tical  kind ;  it  was  needed  by  the  astronomer, 
the  surveyor,  the  mariner.  But  most  of  this 
knowledge  he  expected  the  student  to  get  after 
he  left  school  and  by  work  in  his  profession. 
—He  did  look  somewhat  to  the  cultural  value  of 
the  training ;  he  believed  that  it  was  of  greater 
value  than  other  subjects  in  the  formation  of  the 

^Influence  of  Mathematics,  1735.     S.  II.  66.     B.  I.  414. 


HIS  SYSTEM  OF  EDUCATION  35 

mind,  enlarging  its  capacity,  and  strengthening 
it  to  make  it  more  capable  of  exact  reasoning 
and  discerning  truth  from  falsehood  in  other 
subjects.  This  conception  of  the  cultural  value 
of  mathematical  training  he  had  gotten  from 
reading  Plato's  Republic.  The  total  of  mathe 
matics  in  the  six  years'  course  was  arithmetic, 
accounts,  and  the  simplest  principles  of  geome 
try  and  astronomy. 

J^J2£r§phy  consisted  of  reading,  with  maps, 
for  the  purpose  of  pointing  out  the  places  where 
the  greatest  actions  had  occurred,  naming  the 
countries  and  giving  their  boundaries.  What  he 
called  chronology  was  in  fact  only  a  study  of 
the  dates  of  the  great  events,  the  names  of  the 
states,  and  of  the  famous  men  that  existed  at 
that  time.  The  primary  purpose  of  such  geog 
raphy  was  to  understand  the  map  and  the  globe. 
He  had  no  conception  of  the  importance  of  teach 
ing  the  physical  elements  as  causal  forces  in 
determining  the  civilization  of  a  country  as  a 
legitimate  and  vital  part  of  geography,  although 
he  did  provide  for  much  of  this  dynamic  work 
under  what  he  called  History  of  Commerce,  where 
he  would  have  taught  the  reasons  and  causes  of 
the  rise  of  industries,  the  progress  of  trade,  and 
the  change  of  customs. 


36  FRANKLIN'S  EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL 

History  was  the  rich  subject  of  the  course,  in 
fact  he  thQUgh.t_that  most  all  subjects  could  be 
taught  by  the  historic  method.  A  character 
study  of  historic  men  and  women  would  give 
the  material  for  lessons  in  morality,  whereby 
impressions  of  the  beauty  and  influence  of  vir 
tue  would  be  made  upon  the  minds  of  youth ; 
the  value  of  oratory  in  leading  and  governing 
mankind  is  estimated  from  the  study  of  famous 
orators  of  the  world ;  the  necessity  of  a  public 
religion  and  the  superiority  of  the  Christian  re 
ligion  could  be  taught  as  a  generalization  from 
the  comparative  study  of  the  religions  of  the  his 
toric  people ;  the  elementary  principles  of  good 
government  could  be  best  taught  through  his 
tory  ;  the  importance  of  logic  in  the  discovery 
and  defence  of  truth  is  a  historic  fact ;  the  in 
terest  in  and  the  desire  to  know  the  classical 
and  modern  languages  could  be  induced  by  show 
ing  that  the  greatest  nations  and  the  wisest  and 
most  influential  men  have  spoken  and  written 
in  those  languages;  the  means  whereby  this 
country  can  be  made  great  are  to  be  found  in 
the  study  of  causes  of  greatness  in  the  countries 
of  the  world.  Thus  it  is  seen  that  every  pur 
pose  in  the  study  of  history  was  to  help  the  stu 
dent  in  his  daily  living  —  to  give  him  guiding 


HIS  SYSTEM  OF  EDUCATION  37 

principles  in  the  discharge  of  his  private  and 
public  duties.  Such  a  study  of  history  is/phil- 
osophical  in  its  method  and  utilitarian  in  its 
purpose. 

Natural  history  was  to  be  begun  in  the  third 
year  of  the  school,  and  was  to  furnish  informa 
tion  for  conversation  and  letter  writing,  to  en 
able  merchants  to  understand  commodities  in 
trade,  the  handicraftsman  to  improve  his  busi 
ness  by  new  inventions  and  mixtures,  and  to 
help  the  farmer  to  improve  his  land.  The  most 
important  recommendation  in  the  light  of  pres 
ent  tendencies  was  for  elementary  lessons  in 
agriculture,  through  gardening  and  through  ex 
cursions  to  neighboring  farms.  He  was  prac 
tical  enough  to  see  that  the  masses  needed  this 
more  than  they  needed  the  classics,  and  he  was 
so  far-sighted  as  to  advocate  what  the  people 
have  been  more  than  a  century  in  realizing.  

English  grammar,  composition,  rhetoric,  and  \ 
public  speaking  were  the  heart  of  the  curricu 
lum,  and  the  subject-matter  and  the  method 
which  he  recommended  were  in  the  main  those 
which  he  himself  had  used.  Models  in  form  and 
style  were  to  be  read  and  explained  to  the  youth 
in  terms  of  the  rules  of  formal  grammar,  which 
were  to  be  memorized  by  the  youth  from  the 

o 


\A 


38  FRANKLIN'S   EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL 

very  first  year  of  the  school.  Next  in  impor 
tance  to  the  models  in  literature  was  the  read 
ing  master,  whom  the  pupils  should  imitate  in 
vocal  expression.  Greatest  attention  was  given  ] 
from  the  beginning  to  written  composition,  pub-  | 
lie  speaking,  and  theoretical  and  logical  rea-  1 
soning.  In  the  highest  class  the  best  English^ 
authors  were  to  be  read  and  explained;  these 
were  Tillotson,  Milton,  Locke,  Addison,  Pope, 
Swift,  and  translations  of  the  Latin  and  Greek 
classics.  The  standard  by  which  he  determined 
good  literature  was  very  high,  though  simple 
and  practical :  to  be  good,  it  should  have  a  ten 
dency  to  benefit  the  reader  by  t  improving  his 
virtue  or  his  knowledge;  the  author's  method 
should  be  a  just  one,  —  that  is,  it  should  proceed 
clearly  without  confusion  from  the  known  to 
the  unknown ;  the  words  chosen  for  emphasis 
should  be  those  generally  understood;  the  ar 
rangement  of  words  should  give  pleasure  to  the 
ear.1 

About  the  only  ^criticism  of  consequence  that 
could  be  made  upon  his  English  work  was  in 
beginning  technical  grammar  too  soon.  In  the 
amount  of  work  and  the  quality  of  the  method 

1  Letter  to  a  Friend,  1787.  S.  IX.  221.  S.  II.  553,  Idea  of 
Literature. 


HIS   SYSTEM   OF  EDUCATION 


39 


in  English,  the  schools  have  just  begun  in  the 
last  few  years  to  approach  to  hisrstandard.  He 
had  great  faith  in  the  English  language,  and 
hoped  soon  to  see  it  take  the  second  place,  the 
French  being  then  the  first  language  of  the  world. 
He  regretted  that  the  English  language  presented 
so  many  difficulties  to  the  learner,  so  he  there 
fore  proposed  several  ways  for  simplifying  it, 
but  none  of  these  were  sufficiently  practical  to 
meet  with  favor  in  his  day,  though  his  recom 
mendation  for  the  simplification  of  the  spelling 
is  gradually  going  on  in  a  natural  process  of 
selection. 

Music  was  given  no  place  in  his  course  of 
study,  though  he  himself  valued  it  very  highly 
and  had  considerable  knowledge  of  it.1  The 
omission  of  it  was  doubtless  due  to  two  reasons  : 
first,  that  he  thought  it  had  not  the  utilitarian 
value  of  other  subjects ;  and  second,  because  he 
thought  that  modern  music  was  very  defective. 
In  comparison  with  such  music  as  the  ancient 
legislators  favored  to  influence  the  manners  of 
their  people,  he  believed  that  modern  music  was 
very  inferior,  inasmuch  as  it  abounded  in  defects 
and  absurdities,  such  as  wrong  accent,  wrong 
emphasis,  drawling,  stuttering,  and  screaming. 

1  Letter  to  Peter  Franklin.     S.  VI.  269. 


40  FRANKLIN'S  EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL 

He  of  course  failed  to  see  the  power  of  music 
as  a  positive  force  in  moral  development. 

Drawing  was  given  very  slight  attention,  and 
only  consisted  of  imitation  of  prints  and  the  sim 
plest  principles  of  perspective.  An  interest  in 
this  kind  of  work  was  to  be  created  through  the 
study  of  the  history  of  commerce  in  the  consid 
eration  of  industrial  machinery  and  of  the  im- 
•  plements  of  war.  (Training  in  art  for  aesthetic 
purposes  was  in  no  sense  a  part  of  his  plan,  and 
the  neglect  of  this  sense  of  the  beautiful  was 
possibly  the  greatest  defect  in  his  system ;  but 
it  must  be  remembered  even  in  making  this  criti 
cism  that  Franklin  lived  in  a  day  when  every 
energy  needed  to  be  directed  toward  the  mas 
tery  of  the  forces  of  nature  which  were  promis 
ing  just  at  that  time  a  tremendous  change  in 
industrial  life. 

Physical  exercise  was  made  a  prominent  part 
of  each  child's  duty,  and  consisted  in  running, 
leaping,  wrestling,  and  swimming  —  all  for  the 
double  purpose  of  preventing  disease  and  giv 
ing  strength  and  vigor  to  both  body  and  mind. 
The  quality  of  each  kind  of  exercise  was  to  be 
determined  by  the  degree  of  warmth  it  produced 
in  the  body.1  Walking  was  the  best  if  sufficient 

1  To  his  son  William,  1772.     S.  VIII.  112. 


HIS  SYSTEM   OF  EDUCATION  41 

time  could  be  given ;  but  if  the  time  were  lim 
ited,  such  exercise  as  that  with  the  dumb-bells 
was  the  best.  The  famous  Dialogue  between 
Franklin  and  the  Gout1  is  in  part  intended  to 
show  by  the  Socratic  method  the  evil  conse 
quences  of  too  little  and  of  ill-chosen  exercise. 
And  in  the  attention  that  most  people  give  to 
this,  as  well  as  to  other  laws  of  health,  he  ob 
served  that  even  philosophers  are  sages  in  maxim, 
but  fools  in  conduct.  He  was  an  expert  swim 
mer,  and  taught  many  of  his  friends  the  art. 
He  even  wrote  two  papers  on  The  Art  of 
Swimming?'  At  one  time  while  in  London  he 
seriously  considered  opening  a  swimming  school, 
which  action,  he  observed  in  his  biography, 
would  possibly  have  materially  altered  his  after 
life.3  Had  he  lived  to-day  he  would  doubtless""" " 
have  been  a  strong  advocate  of  all  manly  sports, 
and  the  football  boys'  best  friend. 

Though  the  above  scheme  of  education  was 
for  both  sexes,  yet  Franklin  had  important  views 
regarding   the   education    of    special  Education  of 
classes  that  are  worthy   of  separate       special 
consideration.     He  was  too  practical      Classes- 
to  think  that  any  one  curriculum  could  be  made 
1  s.  n.  194.  2  s.  vi.  286,  290. 

3  Sparks,  Life  of  Franklin,  p.  65. 


42  FRANKLIN'S   EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL 

to  meet  the  needs  of  all  individuals  or  all  classes. 
A  special  training  was  needed  for  each  individ 
ual  and  for  each  class  to  fit  it  for  its  own  peculiar 
functions  in  life. 

The  education  of  women  to  fill  the  places  of 
wives  and  mothers  is  treated  of  in  two  letters 
to  a  friend,1  as  Reflections  on  Courtship  and 
Marriage,  a  plan  whereby  happiness  may  be 
secured  in  the  matrimonial  state.  He  first 
makes  a  criticism  of  the  character  of 

Of  Women.  .  .      .  . 

the  education  of  young  women  in  his 
day  and  the  attitude  of  husbands  toward  their 
wives,  and  then  tells  what  these  should  be. 
The  education  of  young  women  was  too  super- 
\  ficial,  and  it  consisted  too  largely  in  exterior 
accomplishments.  This  resulted  merely  in  arti 
ficial  behavior  intended  wholly  for  the  purpose 
of  catching  men's  eyes.  The  character  of  men's 
conversation  with  her  was  so  trivial  and  flatter 
ing  that  she  was  not  required  to  read  and  reflect 
on  either  serious  or  practical  things.  Men  were 
lacking  in  a  taste  for  real  worth  and  were  con 
sequently  not  a  proper  stimulus  to  develop  the 
higher  elements  in  the  woman,  though  she  is 
just  as  capable  by  nature  as  man  is  of  all  the 
higher  charms  of  friendship  and  intellectual 

1  Reflections  on  Courtship  and  Marriage,  1746.     P.  L.  R. 


HIS  SYSTEM  OF  EDUCATION  43 

companionship.  Women  were  taught  to  have 
mercenary  views  regarding  marriage  —  views 
which  kill  the  tender  sentiments,  without  which 
there  can  be  no  happiness  in  married  life — a 
happiness  which  consists  in  a  union  of  mind,  a 
sympathy  of  affection  and  a  mutual  esteem  and 
friendship.  These  finer  sentiments,  with  the 
necessary  prudence  and  discretion  with  regard 
to  fortune,  is  what  should  be  taught  to  both 
sexes  alike.  Men  should  accustom  her  to  sober 
reason  and  good  sense,  and  should  pursue  in 
common  with  her  a  course  of  profitable  reading. 
A  knowledge  of  accounts  was  also  a  necessary 
part  of  female  education,  as  it  would  be  of  great 
use  in  case  of  widowhood.1  He  thought  that 
nature  makes  man  superior  to  woman  and  in 
vests  him  with  the  guiding  power  in  the  more 
difficult  affairs  of  life,  though  he  must  convince 
her  of  this  superiority  by  using  it  gently,  kindly, 
and  prudently.  And  she  must  be  taught  to 
influence  him  by  the  just  reverence  which  she 
pays  him.  It  is  also  invaluable  for  her  to  con 
tinue  in  her  married  life  the  same  care  of  person, 
of  dress,  and  mental  charm  as  she.exercised  in  her 
days  of  courtship,  on  the  theory  that  love,  though 
it  may  come  by  chance,  can  be  kept  only  by  art. 

1  Works  of  Franklin.    B.  I.  195. 


44  FRANKLIN'S   EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL 

The  education  of  poor  children  had  been 
provided  for  by  the  annexation  of  a  free  school 
to  the  Philadelphia  Academy,  but  there  was  still 
another  class  to  be  cared  for.  This  was  the 
orphans  for  whom  homes  as  well  as 
schooling  had  to  be  provided.  In  a 
paper  on  this  subject,  intended  for  the  considera 
tion  of  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia,  he  gives  his 
idea  of  the  characteristic  features  of  such  a 
school.1  The  school  for  orphans  should  be  sup 
ported  by  charitable  contributions,  and  no  at 
tempt  should  be  made,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Academy,  to  realize  a  profit  on  it.  An  account 
should  be  opened  with  each  orphan,  and  the 
profits  arising  from  his  labor  should  go  to  him 
when  discharged  from  the  school,  and  if  there 
should  be  a  deficit  he  should  be  exhorted  to  pay 
it  when  he  becomes  able.  The  managers  should 
consider  the  discharged  ones  still  as  their  chil 
dren,  and  counsel  and  help  them  in  the  affairs 
of  life.  These  recommendations  came  from  the 
fatherly  heart  of  a  great  man,  and  they  were 
contrary  to  the  practices  of  the  day,  though  they 
characterize  the  spirit  in  the  management  of 
such  schools  at  the  present  time. 

The  last  public  act  of  Franklin  was  a  memo- 

1  Orphan  School-house  in  Philadelphia.     S.  II.  157. 


HIS  SYSTEM  OF  EDUCATION  45 

rial  addressed  to  Congress  in  1789,  by  him  as 
president  of  the  Abolition  Society,  praying  that 
they  devise  means  for  removing  that  of  the 
inconsistency  from  the  character  of  Negro, 
the  American  people,  to  promote  mercy  and  jus 
tice  toward  the  distressed  race,  to  use  all  of  its 
power  to  discourage  traffic  in  the  persons  of 
our  fellowmen.  He  had  all  his  life  been  opposed 
to  slavery  and  had  improved  every  opportunity 
to  make  sentiment  against  it.  Many  of  his  let 
ters  contain  denunciatory  references  to  its  prac 
tice  and  many  rejoicings  over  the  increasing 
sentiment  in  favor  of  its  abolition.1 

His  plea  for  the  education  of  the  freed  negroes 
was  presented  by  him  to  the  Society  for  the 
Abolition  of  Slaves,  of  which  he  was  president.2 
It  proposed  a  general  committee  of  twenty-four 
persons  to  be  subdivided  into  four  sub-committees. 

1.  A  Committee  of  Inspection  to  superintend 
the  moral  conduct  and  the  ordinary  situation  of 
the  negro,  and  to  advise  him  regarding  his  actions. 

2.  A  Committee  of   Guardians  to  place  out 
children  and  young  persons  and  to  arrange  for 

1  To  Benezet,  1772;  S.  VIII.  16.   Dean  Woodward,  1773;  S. 
VIII.    To  John  Wright,  1 789 ;  S.  X.  405.    Marquis  de  Condorcet, 
1774;   S.  VI.  412. 

2  Plan  for  fmproving  the  Condition  of  the  Blacks.    S.  II.  513. 


46  FRANKLIN'S   EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL 

their  education  and  to  represent  the  state  in  its 
relationship  to  them  as  citizens. 

3.  A  Committee  on  Education  to  superintend 
the  school  instruction  of  the  free  blacks,  with 
power  to  send  them  to  schools  already  in  exist 
ence  or  to  establish  schools  for  them. 

4.  A  Committee  of  Employment  to  get  them 
positions  or  to  establish  industries  for  the  pur 
pose  of  employing  them. 

The  funds  for  carrying  on  this  work  were  to 
be  secured  by  charitable  donations  and  subscrip 
tions  and  were  to  be  controlled  by  a  committee 
of  the  general  society. 

This  method  has  been  practically  the  one  in 
use  by  the  philanthropic  societies  interested  in 
Southern  education  ever  since  Franklin's  day. 
It  shows  both  his  deep,  earnest  humanity  and 
his  broad,  practical  method  of  dealing  with 
questions  of  individual  and  public  interest. 

Much  has  already  been  said  that  belongs  to 
the   subject   of   methods   of   teaching,  because 
Franklin's  idea  of  a  system  of  schools 
Methods      was  the  outgrowth  of  his  own  method 
Teaching.     °f   education.     Yet  so  valuable   are 
the  methods  advocated  by  him,  they 
are    worthy   of    separate   notice.      A    compre 
hensive   general   description  of   his  method   is 


HIS  SYSTEM  OF  EDUCATION  47 

contained  in  the  word  ^Socratic,  which  in  reality 
tells  the  attitude  of  the  teacher's  or  the  pupil's 
mind,  rather  than  the  manner  of  presenting  the 
subject.1  As  Franklin  used  it  and  recommended 
it  to  others,  it  consists  in  the  habit  of  expressing 
one's  self  in  terms  of  modest  diffidence,  never 
using  such  words  as  give  an  air  of  positiveness 
to  one's  opinion,  but  using  terms  that  indicate 
that  one's  mind  is  in  the  attitude  of  an  earnest 
inquirer.  He  believed  that  much  of  his  success 
in  public  life  in  interesting,  instruct-  Socratic 
ing,  and  leading  people  was  due  to 
this  method  of  presenting  what  he  thought  to 
be  the  truth  —  for  by  this  method  the  hearer  is 
not  antagonized,  but  his  sympathy  is  elicited  and 
his  cooperation  secured.  Zhis  .method,  in  terms 
of  the  scientist,  is  experimental ;  it  says  we  may 
not  know,  but  we  will  seek  the  truth,  that  all 
who  help  may  know.  The  two  best  illustrations 
of  his  use  of  this  methocTare  his  examination  in 
the  British  House  of  Lords  in  i;662  and  his 
last  speech  in  the  convention  that  framed  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  in  1789*  The 
first  has  the  Socratic  form  of  question  and  an- 

1  Sparks,  Life  of  Franklin,  p.  21. 

2  Tracts  of  the  American  Revolution.    P.  L.  R.;  B.  111.407. 
3S.  V.  155. 


48  FRANKLIN'S   EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL 

swer,  which  are  so  clear,  so  full,  and  so  skilfully 
arranged  that  they  lead  on  to  one,  and  only  one 
answer,  and  this  is,  that  "  England  is  wrong  and 
the  Colonies  have  but  one  pride,  and  that  is,  to 
defend  their  rights  as  peers  of  the  Englishmen 
in  every  respect."  The  answers  are  free  from 
arrogance,  but  they  show  a  decision  and  pre 
cision  in  all  that  he  says,  and  display  a  mind 
filled  with  information  concerning  trade,  manu 
facture,  human  nature,  and  public  policy. 

The  second  has  Franklin's  characteristic  mod 
est  diffidence,  an  air  of  doubt  as  to  the  validity 
of  his  own  opinions,  and  a  feeling  of  assurance 
only  in  a  superhuman  guidance.  He  wanted 
unanimity  in  the  vote  to  adopt  the  proposed  con 
stitution,  though  several,  and  himself  one  of 
them,  did  not  favor  some  provisions  of  the  draft. 
He  admitted  that  he  had  many  times  changed 
his  judgment  and  that  he  might  do  so  again ;  he 
was  willing  to  sacrifice  his  own  opinions  to  the 
public  good,  and  he  urged  them  to  do  so.  The 
result  was  the  passage  of  the  motion  to  adopt 
by  unanimous  consent.  He  used  this  method 
in  both  his  private  and  public  writings  as  well 
as  in  his  social  intercourse  with  men,  and  he 
therefore  recommended  it  to  all  who  would  be 
successful  in  public  life,  or  be  loved  by  friends. 


HIS  SYSTEM  OF  EDUCATION  49 

Teaching  by  example  was  another  method  in 
which  he  believed  equally  strong.  Man  he  be 
lieved  to  be  largely  imitative,  and  as  much 
inclined  to  follow  the  bad  as  the 
good.  Hence,  the  better  the  models 
or  examples  given  him  to  follow,  the  more  beau 
tiful  and  useful  would  he  make  his  life.  In  a 
letter  written  near  the  close  of  his  life l  he  says 
that  this  belief  in  the  power  of  example  deter 
mined  for  him  what  he  would  put  into  his  biog 
raphy.  Consequently  he  wrote  only  what  he 
thought  would  have  a  tendency  to  benefit  the 
young  reader  and  at  the  same  time  to  interest 
and  instruct  him,  by  showing  him  the  advan 
tages  of  certain  models  of  conduct  as  exempli 
fied  in  his  own  success  in  life.  This  autobiog 
raphy  has  been  declared  by  many  able  critics  to 
be  one  of  the  most  wholesome  literary  products 
of  its  kind  in  existence.  Belief  in  the  power  of 
example  determined  his  recommendations  for 
the  selection  of  teachers.  The  teacher,  he  said, 
should  have  just  those  elements  of  moral  and 
mental  strength  which  the  pupils  were  expected 
to  acquire.  In  speech  he  should  be  a  correct, 
pure  speaker,  and  master  of  the  English  tongue. 
In  teaching  reading,  the  master  should  read  the 

1  To  Benjamin  Vaughan,  1788.     S.  X.  364. 


5O  FRANKLIN'S  EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL 

piece  with  proper  modulation  of  voice,  due  em 
phasis,  and  suitable  action,  and  then  have  the 
youth  imitate  his  manner.  He  should  have  the 
student,  in  learning  to  write  compositions,  imi 
tate  some  model  in  diction,  force,  and  style,  just 
as  Franklin  had  imitated  the  Spectator. 

The  method  of  comparison  also  is  everywhere 
present  in  his  writings  and  is  definitely  described 
as  he  used  it  in  reaching  a  conclusion  on  a  sub- 
By  Compari-  ject  concerning  which  there  were 
son.  conflicting  arguments.1  He  arranged 
the  arguments  for  and  against  in  two  parallel 
columns,  and  by  cancellation  determined  where 
the  balance  lay.  A  conclusion  reached  in  this 
way,  he  felt,  was  less  liable  to  be  rash  or  un 
sound  than  one  reached  by  any  other  method. 
Many  of  his  manuscripts  show  signs  of  this 
same  careful  method,  some  being  scratched, 
erased,  and  interlined  till  they  are  almost  illegi 
ble.  It  was  in  this  way  that  the  final  copy 
acquired  such  a  clear,  simple,  and  convincing 
style.2  In  his  proposals  for  an  academy,  the 
work  outlined  in  history  is  most  all  to  be  done 
by  the  comparative  methods.  By  comparing 
the  lives  and  characters  of  the  great  men  of  his- 

1  To  Dr.  Priestly,  Sept.  19,  1772.     S.  B.  IV.  522. 

2  To  Benjamin  Vaughan,  1789.     S.  X.  397. 


HIS   SYSTEM   OF  EDUCATION  51 

tory  he  would  get  his  moral  lessons,  his  incenO 
tives  for  the  study  of  oratory,  his  reasons  for  a\ 
public  religion,  his  principles  of  sound  politics,/ 
the  advantage  of  classical  training. 

These,  then,  are  the  fundamental  or  general 
methods  used  and  advocated  by  Franklin,  out 
of  which  grew  his  special  methods  of  teaching, 
the  character  of  which  is  sufficiently  apparent 
from  what  has  been  given  of  the  man  and  his  S\ 
works. 

We  have  now  before  us  the  ideal  man  and  the 
ideal  system  of  schools,  as  conceived  and  advo 
cated  by  Franklin,  who  himself  was, one  of  the 
greatest  educators  that  the  world  has  The  Ideal 
ever  had.  It  only  remains  to  present  Teacher, 
his  ideal  teacher,  who  through  such  a  system  of 
schools  and  by  the  use  of  such  methods  could 
come  nearest  to  the  realization  of  the  ideal  man 
in  his  pupil.  We  let  his  own  words  characterize 
this  teacher :  "  I  think  that  talents  for  the  edu 
cation  of  youth  are  the  gift  of  God,  and  that  he 
on  whom  they  are  bestowed  is  as  strongly  called 
as  if  he  heard  a  voice  from  heaven,  nothing 
more  surely  pointing  out  duty  in  a  public  service 
than  the  ability  and  opportunity  of  performing 
it."1 

1  To  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson.    B.  n.  204. 


PART   II 

FRANKLIN'S  OWN  WRITINGS 
ON   EDUCATION 


FRANKLIN'S    OWN   WRITINGS 
ON   EDUCATION 


PLAN   OF    DAILY    EXAMINATIONS    IN    THE    MORAL 
VIRTUES 

[The  following  list  of  thirteen  virtues,  with  their  pre 
cepts  which  expressed  the  meaning  he  gave  to  them, 
Franklin  placed  on  separate  pages  in  a  little  book  which 
he  carried  with  him  for  more  than  fifty  years.  Each  day 
he  graded  himself  upon  these  virtues,  concentrating  his 
attention  for  a  week  at  the  time  upon  a  single  virtue. 
The  form  of  one  page  is  also  given ;  the  virtue  named  at 
the  top  of  the  page  is  the  one  upon  which  he  concentrated 
his  attention  for  the  week.  Franklin's  conception  of  what 
he  accomplished  by  the  use  of  this  scheme  is  told  in  a 
quotation  from  his  autobiography:  "It  may  be  well  my 
posterity  should  be  informed  that  to  this  little  artifice, 
with  the  blessing  of  God,  their  ancestor  owes  the  constant 
felicity  of  his  life  down  to  his  seventy-ninth  year,  in  which 
this  is  written.  Whatever  reverses  may  attend  the  re 
mainder  is  in  the  hand  of  Providence ;  but  if  they  arrive, 
the  reflection  on  past  happiness  enjoyed  ought  to  help  his 
bearing  them  with  more  resignation."] 

55 


56       FRANKLIN'S  WRITINGS  ON   EDUCATION 

LIST   OF  VIRTUES 

1.  TEMPERANCE. — Eat  not  to  dulness;  drink 
not  to  elevation. 

2.  SILENCE.  —  Speak  not  but  what  may  bene 
fit  others  or  yourself  ;  avoid  trifling  conversation. 

3.  ORDER.  —  Let  all  your  things  have  their 
places ;  let  each  part  of  your  business  have  its  time. 

4.  RESOLUTION.  —  Resolve  to  perform  what 
you  ought ;  perform  without  fail  what  you  resolve. 

5.  FRUGALITY.  —  Make  no  expense  but  to  do 
good  to  others  or  yourself ;  that  is,  waste  nothing. 

6.  INDUSTRY.  —  Lose   no  time;    be   always 
employed  in  something  useful;  cut  off  all  un 
necessary  actions. 

7.  SINCERITY. — Use  no  hurtful  deceit ;  think 
innocently  and  justly  ;  speak  accordingly. 

8.  JUSTICE.  —  Wrong  none  by  doing  injuries, 
or  omitting  the  benefits  that  are  your  duty. 

9.  MODERATION. — Avoid  extremes  ;  forbear 
resenting   injuries  so   much  as  you  think  you 
deserve. 

10.  CLEANLINESS. — Tolerate    no    uncleanli- 
ness  in  body,  clothes,  or  habitation. 

11.  TRANQUILLITY.  —  Be    not    disturbed    at 
trifles  or  at  accidents  common  or  unavoidable. 

12.  CHASTITY.  .  .  . 

13.  HUMILITY.  —  Imitate  Jesus  and  Socrates. 


PLAN  OF  DAILY   EXAMINATIONS  57 

FORM  OF  PAGE 

TEMPERANCE 
Eat  not  to  dulness ;  drink  not  to  elevation. 

Sun.        M.         T.         W.         Th.        F.        S. 
Tern 

Sil x x x x 

Ord. x x x x x__ 

Res. x x 

Fru x x 

Ind x 

Sine 

Jus 

Mod 

Clea . 

Tran 

Chas 

Hum._. 


II 

FATHER  ABRAHAM'S  SPEECH 

[This  speech  is  a  compilation  and  rearrangement  of  the 
prefaces,  proverbs,  and  poems  of  Poor  Richard"1  s  Almanacs. 
It  is  Franklin's  masterpiece.  He  wrote  it  after  twenty-five 
years1  use  had  been  made  of  Poor  Richard's  sayings.  It 
is  a  little  classic  with  which  every  one  should  be  familiar. 
Its  teachings,  if  followed,  would  give  strength  and  happi 
ness  to  many  lives  now  weak  and  wretched.] 

I  HAVE  heard  that  nothing  gives  an  author  so 
great  pleasure  as  to  find  his  works  respectfully 
quoted  by  other  learned  authors.  This  pleas 
ure  I  have  seldom  enjoyed;  for  though  I  have 
been,  if  I  may  say  it  without  vanity,  an  eminent 
author  (of  almanacs)  annually,  now  a  full  quar 
ter  of  a  century,  my  brother  authors  in  the  same 
way,  for  what  reason  I  know  not,  have  ever  been 
very  roaring  in  their  applause,  and  no  other  au 
thor  fms  taken  the  least  notice  of  me;  so  that, 
did  not  my  writings  produce  me  some  solid  pud 
ding,  the  great  deficiency  of  praise  would  have 
quite  discouraged  me.  I  concluded,  at  length, 
58 


FATHER  ABRAHAM'S   SPEECH  59 

that  the  people  were  the  best  judges  of  my 
merit,  for  they  buy  my  works ;  and  besides,  in 
my  rambles,  where  I  am  not  personally  known, 
I  have  frequently  heard  one  or  other  adages  of 
mine  repeated,  with  "  as  Poor  Richard  says,"  at 
the  end  on't.  This  gave  me  some  satisfaction, 
as  it  showed  not  only  that  my  instructions  were 
regarded,  but  discovered  likewise  some  respect 
for  my  authority  ;  and  I  own  that,  to  encourage 
the  practice  of  remembering  and  reading  those 
wise  sentences,  I  have  sometimes  quoted  myself 
with  great  gravity.  Judge,  then,  how  much  I 
must  have  been  gratified  by  an  incident  I  am 
going  to  relate  to  you. 

I  stopped  my  horse  lately  where  a  great  num 
ber  of  people  were  collected  at  an  auction  of 
merchants'  goods.  The  hour  of  the  sale  not 
being  come,  they  were  conversing  on  the  bad 
ness  of  the  times,  and  one  of  the  company  called 
to  a  plain,  clean  old  man  with  white  locks : 
"  Pray,  Father  Abraham,  what  think  you  of  the 
times?  will  not  these  heavy  taxes  quite  ruin  the 
country  ?  how  shall  we  ever  be  able  to  pay  them  ? 
What  would  you  advise  us  to  do  ? "  Father 
Abraham  stood  up  and  replied :  "  If  you  would 
have  my  advice,  I  will  give  it  to  you  in  short, 
for,  'A  word  to  the  wise  is  enough,'  as  Poor 


60       FRANKLIN'S  WRITINGS  ON  EDUCATION 

Richard  says."  They  joined  in  desiring  him 
to  speak  his  mind,  and  gathering  around  him, 
he  proceeded  as  follows  :  — 

"  Friends,"  said  he,  "  the  taxes  are  indeed 
very  heavy,  and  if  those  laid  on  by  the  govern 
ment  were  the  only  ones  we  had  to  pay,  we 
might  more  easily  discharge  them  ;  but  we  have 
many  others,  and  much  more  grievous  to  some 
of  us.  We  are  taxed  twice  as  much  by  our  idle- 
nessjjhree  times  as  much  by  our  pride,  and  four 
much  by  our  folly;  and  from  these 


taxes  the  commissioners  cannot  ease  or  deliver 
us  by  allowing  an  abatement.  However,  let  us 
hearken  to  good  advice,  and  something  may  be 
done  for  us  ;  God  helps  them  that  help  them 
selves,  as  Poor  Richard  says. 

"  I.  It  would  be  thought  a  hard  government 
that  should  task  its  people  one-tenth  part  of  their 
time,  to  be  employed  in  its  service;  but  idleness 
taxes  many  of  us  much  jnore  ;  sloth,  by  bringing 
On  diseases,  absolutely  shortens  life.  Sloth, 
like  rust,  consumes  faster  than  labor  wears, 
while  the  used  key  is  always  bright,  as  poor 
Richard  says.  But  dost  thou  love  life?  then 
do  not  squander  time,  for  that  is  the  stuff  life 
is  made  of,  as  Poor  Richard  says.  How  much 
more  than  is  necessary  do  we  spend  in  sleep, 


FATHER  ABRAHAM'S   SPEECH  6 1 

forgetting  that  the  sleeping  fox  catches  no 
poultry,  and  that  there  will  be  sleeping  enough 
in  the  grave,  as  Poor  Richard  says. 

"  If  time  be  of  all  things  the  most  precious, 
wasting  time  must  be,  as  Poor  Richard  says,  the 
greatest  prodigality  ;  since,  as  he  elsewhere  tells, 
Lost  time  is  never  found  again  ;  and  what  we  call 
time  enough  always  proves  little  enough.  Let 
us  then  be  up  and  doing,  and  doing  to  the  pur 
pose;  so  by  diligence  shall  we  do  more  with 
less  perplexity.  Sloth  makes  all  things  diffi 
cult,  but  industry,  all  easy ;  and  He  that  riseth 
late  must  trot  all  day,  and  shall  scarce  overtake 
his  business  at  night ;  while  J^aziness  travels  so 

~~^"^ — 

slowly  that  Poverty  soon  overtakes  mm.     Drive 
thy  business,  let  not  that  driveTfiee ;  and  Early  f 
to  bed,  an^£arly__to_rise^.  makes  a  man  healthy,  f 
wealthy,  and  wiseT  as  Poor  Richard  says. 

"So  what  signifies  wishing  and  hoping  for 
better  times  ?  We  make  these  times  better,  if 
we  bestir  ourselves.  Industry  need  not  wish, 
and  he  that  lives  upon  hopes  will  die  fasting. 
There  are  no  gains  without  pains  ;  then  help, 
hands,  for  I  have  no  lands ;  or,  if  I  have,  they 
are  smartly  taxed.  He  that  hath  a  trade  hath 
an  estate ;  and  he  that  hath  a  calling  hath  an 
office  of  profit  and  honor,  as  Poor  Richard  says ; 


62       FRANKLIN'S  WRITINGS  ON   EDUCATION 

but  then  the  trade  must  be  worked  at,  and  the 
calling  followed,  or  neither  the  estate  nor  the 
office  will  enable  us  to  pay  our  taxes.  If  we  are 
industrious  we  shall  never  starve;  for  At  the 
workingman's  house  hunger  looks  in,  but  dares 
not  enter.  Nor  will  the  bailiff  or  the  constable 
enter ;  for  Industry  pays  debts,  while  despair 
increaseth  them.  What  though  you  have  found 
no  treasure,  nor  has  any  rich  relation  left  you  a 
legacy ;  Diligence  is  the  mother  of  good  luck, 
and  God  gives  all  things  to  Industry.  Then 
plough  deep  while  sluggards  sleep,  and  you  shall 
have  corn  to  sell  and  to  keep.  Work  while  it  is 
called  to-day,  for  you  know  not  how  much  you 
may  be  hindered  to-morrow.  One  to-day  is 
worth  two  to-morrows,  as  Poor  Richard  says ; 
and  further,  Never  leave  that  till  to-morrow 
which  you  can  do  to-day.  If  you  were  a  servant, 
would  you  not  be  ashamed  that  a  good  master 
should  catch  you  idle  ?  Are  you  then  your  own 
master  ?  Be  ashamed  to  catch  yourself  idle 
when  there  is  so  much  to  be  done  for  yourself, 
your  family,  your  country,  your  king.  Handle 
your  tools  without  mittens  ;  remember  that  The 
cat  in  gloves  catches  no  mice,  as  Poor  Richard 
says.  /  It  is  true  there  is  much  to  be  done,  and 
perhaps  you  are  weak-handed ;  but  stick  to  it 


FATHER  ABRAHAM'S   SPEECH  63 

steadily  and  you  will  see  great  effects ;  for  Con 
stant  dropping  wears  away  stones  ;  and  By  Dili 
gence  and  Patience  the  mouse  ate  in  two  the 
cable ;  and  Little  strokes  fell  great  oaks. 

"  Methinks  I  hear  some  of  you  say,  Must  a 
man  afford  himself  no  leisure  ?  I  will  tell  thee, 
my  friend,  what  Poor  Richard  says :  Employ 
thy  time  well,  if  thou  meanest  to  gain  leisure ; 
and  since  thou  art  not  sure  of  a  minute,  throw 
not  away  an  hour.  Leisure  is  time  for  doing 
something  useful ;  this  leisure  the  diligent  man 
will  obtain,  but  the  lazy  man  never ;  for  A  life 
of  leisure  and  a  life  of  laziness  are  two  things. 
Many,  without  labor,  would  live  by  their  wits 
only,  but  they  break  for  want  of  stock ;  whereas, 
industry  gives  comfort,  and  plenty,  and  respect. 
Fly  pleasures  and  they  will  follow  you.  The 
diligent  spinner  has  a  large  shift;  and  now  I 
have  a  sheep  and  a  cow  every  one  bids  me  good- 
morrow. 

"II.  But  with  our  industry  we  must  likewise 
be  steady  and  careful,  and  oversee  our  own 
affairs  with  our  own  eyes,  and  not  trust  too 
much  to  others  ;  for,  as  Poor  Richard  says,  — 

I  never  saw  an  oft-removed  tree, 

Nor  yet  an  oft-removed  family, 

That  throve  so  well  as  those  that  settled  be. 


64       FRANKLIN'S  WRITINGS   ON   EDUCATION 

And  again,  Three  removes  are  as  bad  as  a  fire ; 
and  again,  Keep  thy  shop,  and  thy  shop  will 
keep  thee ;  and  again,  If  you  would  have  your 
business  done,  go  ;  if  not,  send.  And  again,  — 

He  that  by  the  plough  would  thrive, 
Himself  must  either  hold  or  drive. 

And  again,  The  eye  of  the  master  will  do  more 
work  than  both  his  hands ;  and  again,  Want  of 
care  does  us  more  damage  than  want  of  knowl 
edge  ;  and  again,  Not  to  oversee  workmen  is  to 
leave  them  your  purse  open.  Trusting  too  much 
to  others'  care  is  the  ruin  of  many ;  for,  In  the 
affairs  of  this  world  men  are  saved,  not  by  faith 
but  by  the  want  of  it ;  but  a  man's  own  care  is 
profitable;  for,  If  you  would  have  a  faithful 
servant  and  one  that  you  like,  serve  yourself. 
*A  little  neglect  may  breed  great  mischief ;  for 
want  of  a  nail  the  shoe  was  lost ;  and  for  want 
of  a  horse  the  rider  was  lost,  being  overtaken  and 
slain  by  the  enemy  ;  all  for  a  little  care  about  a 
horse-shoe  nail. 

"  III.  So  much  for  industry,  my  friends,  and 
attention  to  one's  own  business ;  but  to  these  we 
must  add  frugality,  if  we  would  make  our  indus 
try  more  certainly  successful.  A  man  may,  if 
he  knows  not  how  to  save  as  he  gets,  keep  his 


FATHER  ABRAHAM'S   SPEECH  65 

nose  all  his  life  to  the  grindstone,  and  die  not 
worth  a  groat  at  last.  A  fat  kitchen  makes  a 
lean  will ;  and  — 

Many  estates  are  spent  in  the  getting, 
Since  women  forsook  spinning  and  knitting, 
And  men  for  punch  forsook  hewing  and  splitting. 

"  If  you  would  be  wealthy,  think  of  saving  as 
well  as  getting.  The  Indies  have  not  made 
Spain  rich,  because  her  outgoes  are  greater 
than  her  incomes. 

"  Away  then  with  your  expensive  follies,  and 
you  will  not  then  have  so  much  cause  to  com 
plain  of  hard  times,  heavy  taxes,  and  chargeable 
families,  for  — 

Women  and  wine,  game  and  deceit, 
Make  the  wealth  small  and  the  want  great. 

And  further,  What  maintains  one  vice  would 
bring  up  two  children.  You  may  think,  perhaps, 
that  a  little  tea  or  a  little  punch  now  and  then, 
diet  a  little  more  costly,  clothes  a  little  finer,  and 
a  little  entertainment  now  and  then  can  be  no 
great  matter ;  but  remember,  Many  a  little  makes 
a  mickle.  Beware  of  little  expenses ;  A  small 
leak  will  sink  a  great  ship,  as  Poor  I^icKard 
Who  dainties  love  shall  beg- 


66       FRANKLIN'S  WRITINGS  ON   EDUCATION 

gars  prove ;  and  moreover,  Fools  make  feasts 
and  wise  men  eat  them. 

"  Here  you  are  all  got  together  at  this  sale  of 
fineries  and  knickknacks.  You  call  them  goods  ; 
but,  if  you  do  not  take  care,  they  will  prove 
evils  to  some  of  you.  You  expect  they  will  be 
sold  cheap,  and  perhaps  they  may  for  less  than 
they  cost,  but,  if  you  have  no  occasion  for  them, 
they  must  be  dear  to  you.  Remember  what 
Poor  Richard  says,  Buy  what  thou  hast  no 
need  of,  and  ere  long  thou  shalt  sell  thy  neces 
saries.  And  again,  At  a  great  pennyworth 
pause  a  while.  He  means  that  perhaps  the 
cheapness  is  apparent  only,  and  not  real;  or 
the  bargain,  by  straightening  thee  in  thy  busi 
ness,  may  do  thee  more  harm  than  good.  For 
in  another  place  he  says,  Many  have  been 
ruined  by  buying  good  pennyworths.  Again,  it 
is  foolish  to  lay  out  money  in  a  purchase  of 
repentance ;  and  yet  this  folly  is  practised  every 
day  at  auctions,  for  want  of  minding  the  almanac. 
Many  a  one,  for  the  sake  of  finery  on  the  back, 
have  gone  with  a  hungry  belly  and  half  starved 
their  families.  Silks  and  satins,  scarlet  and  vel 
vets,  put  the  kitchen  fire  out,  as  Poor  Richard 
says. 

"  These  are  not  the  necessaries  of  life ;  they 


"  or  THE 
UNIVERSITY 

or 


FATHER   ABRAHAM'S   SP 


can  scarcely  be  called  the  conveniences;  and 
yet,  only  because  they  look  pretty,  how  many 
want  to  have  them.  By  these,  and  other  ex 
travagances,  the  genteel  are  reduced  to  poverty, 
and  forced  to  borrow  of  those  whom  they  for 
merly  despised,  but  who,  through  industry  and 
frugality,  have  maintained  their  standing;  in 
which  case  it  appears  plainly  that,  A  ploughman 
on  his  legs  is  higher  than  a  gentleman  on  his 
knees,  as  Poor  Richard  says.  Perhaps  they 
have  a  small  estate  left  them  which  they  knew 
not  the  getting  of  ;  they  think,  It  is  day  and  it 
never  will  be  night  ;  that  a  little  to  be  spent  out 
of  so  much  is  not  worth  minding;  but  Always 
taking  out  of  the  meal-tub,  and  never  putting  in, 
soon  comes  to  the  bottom,  as  Poor  Richard  says  ; 
and  then,  When  the  well  is  dry,  they  know  the 
worth  of  water.  But  this  they  might  have 
known  before,  if  they  had  taken  his  advice.  If 
you  would  know  the  value  of  money,  go  and  try 
to  borrow  some  ;  for  He  that  goes  a-borrowing 
goes  a-sorrowing,  as  Poor  Richard  says;  and, 
indeed,  So  does  he  that  lends  to  such  people, 
when  he  goes  to  get  it  again.  Poor  Richard 
further  advises,  and  says,  — 

Fond  pride  of  dress  is  sure  a  very  curse  ; 
Ere  fancy  you  consult,  consult  your  purse. 


68       FRANKLIN'S  WRITINGS  ON   EDUCATION 

And  again,  Pride  is  as  loud  a  beggar  as  Want, 
and  a  great  deal  more  saucy.  When  you  have 
bought  one  fine  thing,  you  must  buy  ten  more, 
that  your  appearance  may  be  all  of  a  piece ;  but 
Poor  Richard  says,  It  iseasier  to  suppress  the 
first  desire  than  to  satisfy  alT'that  follow  it. 
And  it  is  as  truly  folly  for  the  poor  to  ape  the 
rich,  as  for  the  frog  to  swell  in  order  to  equal 
the  ox. 

Vessels  large  may  venture  more, 

But  little  boats  should  keep  near  shore. 

It  is,  however,  a  folly  soon  punished;  for,  as 
Poor  Richard  says,  Pride  that  dines  on  vanity, 
sups  on  contempt.  Pride  breakfasted  with 
plenty,  dined  with  poverty,  and  supped  with 
infamy.  And  after  all,  of  what  use  is  this  pride 
of  appearance,  for  writer!  so  much  is  risked,  so 
much  is  suffered  ?  It  cannot  promote  health, 
nor  ease  pain ;  it  makes  no  increase  of  merit  in 
the  person ;  it  creates  envy ;  it  hastens  mis 
fortune. 

"  But  what  madness  must  it  be  to  run  in  debt 
for  these  superfluities  ?  We  are  offered  by  the 
terms  of  this  sale  six  months'  credit;  and  that, 
perhaps,  has  induced  some  of  us  to  attend  it, 
because  we  cannot  spend  the  ready  money,  and 
hope  now  to  be  fine  without  it.  But,  ah  !  think 


FATHER  ABRAHAM'S   SPEECH  69 

what  you  do  when  you  run  in  debt ;  to  give  to 
another  power  over  your  liberty.  If  you  cannot 
pay  at  the  time,  you  will  be  ashamed  to  see  your 
creditor ;  you  will  be  in  fear  when  you  speak  to 
him ;  you  will  make  poor,  pitiful,  sneaking  ex 
cuses,  and  by  degrees  come  to  lose  your  veracity 
and  sink  into  base,  downright  lying;  for  The 
second  vice  is  lying,  the  first  is  running  into 
debt,  as  Poor  Richard  says ;  and  again,  to  the 
same  purpose,  Lying  rides  upon  Debt's  back; 
whereas,  a  free-born  Englishman  ought  not  to 
be  ashamed  nor  afraid  to  see  or  speak  to  any 
man  living.  .  But  poverty  often  deprives  a  man 
of  all  spirit  and  virtue.  It  is  hard  for  an  empty 
bag  to  stand  upright. 

"  What  would  you  think  of  that  prince,  or  of 
that  government,  who  should  issue  an  edict  for 
bidding  you  to  dress  like  a  gentleman  or  gentle 
woman,  on  pain  of  imprisonment  or  servitude  ? 
Would  not  you  say  that  you  were  free,  have  a 
right  to  dress  as  ypu  please,  and  that  such  an 
edict  would  be  a  breach  of  your  privileges,  and 
such  a  government  tyrannical  ?  And  yet  you 
are  about  to  put  yourself  under  such  tyranny, 
when  you  run  in  debt  for  such  dress.  Your 
creditor  has  authority  at  his  pleasure  to  deprive 
you  of  your  liberty,  by  confining  you  in  gaol  till 


70       FRANKLIN'S  WRITINGS  ON  EDUCATION 

you  shall  be  able  to  pay  him.  When  you  have 
got  your  bargain,  you  may,  perhaps,  think  little 
of  payment ;  but,  as  Poor  Richard  says,  credit 
ors  have  better  memories  than  debtors ;  creditors 
are  a  superstitious  set,  great  observers  of  set 
days  and  times.  The  day  comes  round  before 
you  are  aware,  and  the  demand  is  made  before 
you  are  prepared  to  satisfy  it;  or,  if  you  bear 
your  debt  in  mind,  the  term,  which  at  first 
seemed  so  long,  will,  as  it  lessens,  appear  ex 
tremely  short.  Time  will  seem  to  have  added 
wings  to  his  heels  as  well  as  his  shoulders. 
Those  have  a  short  Lent  who  owe  money  to  be 
paid  at  Easter.  At  present,  perhaps,  you  may 
think  yourselves  in  thriving  circumstances,  and 
that  you  can  bear  a  little  extravagance  without 
injury;  but 

For  age  and  want  save  while  you  may ; 
No  morning  sun  lasts  a  whole  day. 

Gain  may  be  temporary  and  uncertain,  but  ever, 
while  you  live,  expense  is  constant  and  certain ; 
and,  It  is  easier  to  build  two  chimneys  than  to 
keep  one  in  fuel,  as  Poor  Richard  says;  so, 
Rather  go  to  bed  supperless  than  rise  in  debt. 

Get  what  you  can,  and  what  you  get  hold  ; 

'Tis  the  stone  that  will  turn  all  your  lead  into  gold. 


FATHER  ABRAHAM'S  SPEECH  71 

And  when  you  have  got  the  Philosopher's  Stone, 
sure  you  will  no  longer  complain  of  bad  times, 
or  the  difficulty  of  paying  taxes. 

"  IV.  This  doctrine,  my  friends,  is  reason 
and  wisdom ;  but,  after  all,  do  not  depend  too 
much  upon  your  own  industry  and  frugality 
and  prudence,  though  excellent  things ;  for  they 
may  all  be  blasted,  without  the  blessing  of 
Heaven ;  and,  therefore,  ask  that  blessing  hum 
bly,  and  be  not  uncharitable_to  thosethat  at 
present  seem  to  want  it,  butcomfort  ImcTTTeTp 
them.  ^Remember  Job  suffered,  and  was  after- 
ards  prosperous. 


"  And  now,  to  conclude,  Experience  keeps  a 
/  dear  school,  but  fools  will  learn  in  no  other,  as 
Poor  Richard  says,  and  scarce  in  that ;  for,  it  is 
true  we  may  give  advice,  but  we  cannot  give 
conduc^  However,  remember  this :  They  that 
will  not  be  counselled  cannot  be  helped;  and 
further,  that,  If  you^will  not  hear  Reason,  she 
will  surely  rap  your  knuckles,  as  Poor~Richard 
says." 

Thus  the  old  gentleman  ended  his  harangue. 
The  people  heard  it  and  approved  the  doctrine, 
and  immediately  practised  the  contrary,  just  as 
if  it  had  been  a  common  sermon ;  for  the  auc 
tion  opened,  and  they  began  to  buy  extrava- 


72       FRANKLIN'S  WRITINGS  ON  EDUCATION 

gantly.  I  found  the  good  man  had  thoroughly 
studied  my  almanacs,  and  digested  all  I  had 
dropped  on  these  topics  during  the  course  of 
twenty-five  years.  The  frequent  mention  he 
made  of  me  must  have  tired  any  one  else ;  but 
my  vanity  was  wonderfully  delighted  with  it, 
though  I  was  conscious  not  a  tenth  part  of  the 
wisdom  was  my  own  which  he  ascribed  to  me, 
but  rather  the  gleanings  that  I  had  made  of  the 
sense  of  all  ages  and  nations. 

However,  I  resolved  to  be  better  for  the  echo 
of  it;  and,  though  I  had  at  first  determined  to 
buy  stuff  for  a  new  coat,  I  went  away  resolved 
to  wear  my  old  one  a  little  longer.  Reader,  if 
thou  wilt  do  the  same,  thy  profit  will  be  as  great 
as  mine.  I  am,  as  ever,  thine  to  serve  thee, 

RICHARD  SAUNDERS. 


Ill 


PROPOSALS     RELATING    TO     THE     EDUCATION    OF 
YOUTH    IN    PENNSYLVANIA 

[This  paper  was  written  by  Franklin  in  1749.  It  is  a 
plan  for  the  organization  of  an  Academy  at  Philadelphia 
and  it  contains  a  discussion  of  the  jDurpose  of  education, 
the  value  of  the  various  subjects  in  the  curriculum,  and  the 
methods  of  teaching  these  subjects.  The  Academy  was 
organized  pretty  much  after  this  plan  and  was  many  years 
later  developed  into  what  is  now  the  University  of  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania.  Franklin  was,  until  the  time  of 
his  death  in  1790,  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of 
this  school,  and  he  gave  much  of  his  time,  money,  and 
thought  to  its  management.] 

/  THE  good  education  of  youth  has  been  es 
teemed  by  wise  men  in  all  ages  as  the  surest 
foundation  of  the  happiness  both  of  private 
families  and  of  commonwealths.  Almost  all 
governments  have  therefore  made  it  a  principal 
object  of  their  attention  to  establish  and  endow 
with  proper  revenues  such  seminaries  of  learn 
ing  as  might  supply  the  succeeding  age  with 
73 


74       FRANKLIN'S  WRITINGS  ON   EDUCATION 

men  qualified  to  serve  the  public  with  honor  to 
themselves  and  to  their  country. 

Many  of  the  first  settlers  of  these  provinces 
were  men  who  had  received  a  good  education  in 
Europe ;  and  to  their  wisdom  and  good  man 
agement  we  owe  much  of  our  present  prosperity. 
But  their  hands  were  full,  and  they  could  not  do 
all  things.  The  present  race  are  not  thought  to 
be  generally  of  equal  ability ;  for,  though  the 
American  youth  are  allowed  not  to  want  capac 
ity,  yet  the  best  capacities  require  cultivation ;  it 
being  truly  with  them  as  with  the  best  ground, 
which,  unless  well  tilled  and  sowed  with  profit 
able  seed,  produces  only  ranker  weeds. 

That  we  may  obtain  the  advantages  arising 
from  an  increase  of  knowledge,  and  prevent,  as 
much  as  may  be,  the  mischievous  consequences 
that  would  attend  a  general  ignorance  among  us, 
the  following  hints  are  offered  toward  forming  a 
plan  for  the  education  of  the  youth  of  Penn 
sylvania,  viz. : — 

It  is  proposed, 

That  some  persons  of  leisure  and  public  spirit 
apply  for  a  charter,  by  which  they  may  be  in 
corporated,  with  power  to  erect  an  Academy  for 
the  education  of  youth,  to  govern  the  same,  pro 
vide  masters,  make  rules,  receive  donations, 


EDUCATION  IN   PENNSYLVANIA  75 

purchase  lands,  and  to  add  to  their  number  from 
time  to  time  such  other  persons  as  they  shall 
judge  suitable. 

That  the  members  of  the  corporation  make  it 
their  pleasure  and,  in  some  degree,  their  busi 
ness,  to  visit  the  Academy  often,  encourage  and 
countenance  the  youth,  countenance  and  assist 
the  masters,  and  by  all  means  in  their  power 
advance  the  usefulness  and  reputation  of  the 
design;  that  they  look  on  the  students  as  in 
some  sort  their  children,  treat  them  with  famil 
iarity  and  affection,  and,  when  they  have  behaved 
well,  and  gone  through  their  studies,  and  are  to 
enter  the  world,  zealqusly  unite,  and  make  all 
the  interest  that  can  be  made  to  establish  them, 
whether  in  business,  offices,  marriages,  or  any 
other  thing  for  their  advantage,  preferably  to  all 
other  persons  whatsoever,  even  of  equal  merit. 

And  if  men  may,  and  frequently  do,  catch 
such  a  taste  for  cultivating  flowers,  for  planting, 
grafting,  inoculating,  and  the  like,  as  to  despise 
all  other  amusements  for  their  sake,  why  may 
not  we  expect  they  should  acquire  a  relish  for 
that  more  useful  culture  of  young  minds. 
Thomson  says, — 

"  'Tis  joy  to  see  the  human  blossoms  blow, 
When  infant  reason  grows  apace,  and  calls 


76       FRANKLIN'S  WRITINGS  ON  EDUCATION 

For  the  kind  hand  of  an  assiduous  care. 
Delightful  task!  to  rear  the  tender  thought, 
To  teach  the  young  idea  how  to  shoot ; 
To  pour  the  fresh  instruction  o'er  the  mind, 
To  breathe  the  enlivening  spirit,  and  to  fix 
The  generous  purpose  in  the  glowing  breast." 

That  a  house  be  provided  for  the  Academy, 
if  not  in  the  town,  not  many  miles  from  it ;  the 
situation  high  and  dry,  and,  if  it  may  be,  not  far 
from  a  river,  having  a  garden,  orchard,  meadow, 
and  a  field  or  two. 

That  the  house  be  furnished  with  a  library  if 
in  the  country  (if  in  the  town,  the  town  libraries 
may  serve),  with  maps  of  all  countries,  globes, 
some  mathematical  instruments,  an  apparatus 
for  experiments  in  natural  philosophy  and  for 
mechanics ;  prints  of  all  kinds,  prospects,  build 
ings,  and  machines. 

That  the  rector  be  a  man  of  good  understand 
ing,  good  morals,  diligent  and  patient,  learned  in 
the  languages  and  sciences,  and  a  correct,  pure 
speaker  and  writer  of  the  English  tongue ;  to 
have  such  tutors  under  him  as  shall  be  necessary. 

That  the  boarding  scholars  diet  together, 
plainly,  temperately,  and  frugally. 

That,  to  keep  them  in  health  and  to  strengthen 
and  render  active  their  bodies,  they  be  frequently 


EDUCATION   IN   PENNSYLVANIA  77 

exercised   in    running,    leaping,   wrestling,  and 
swimming. 

That  they  have  peculiar  habits  to  distinguish 
them  from  other  youth,  if  the  Academy  be  in 
or  near  the  town;  for  this,  among  other  rea 
sons,  that  their  behavior  may  be  the  better 
observed. 

As  to  their  studies,  it  would  be  well  if  they  i/ 
could  be  taught  everything  that  is  useful,  and 
everything  that  is  ornamental.  But  art  is  long, 
and  their  time  is  short.  It  is  therefore  proposed 
that  they  learn  those  things  that  are  likely  to  be 
most  useful  and  most  ornamental,  regard  being 
had  to  the  several  professions  for  which  they 
are  intended. 

All  should  be  taught  to  write  a  fair  hand,  and 
swift,  as  that  is  useful  to  all.  And  with  it  may 
be  learned  something  of  drawing,  by  imitation 
of  prints,  and  some  of  the  first  principles  of 
perspective. 

Arithmetic,  accounts,  and  some  of  the  first 
principles  of  geometry  and  astronomy. 

The  English  language  might  be  taught  by 
grammar;  in  which  some  of  our  best  writers, 
as  Tillotson,  Addison,  Pope,  Algernon  Sidney, 
Cato's  Letters,  etc.,  should  be  classics  ;  the_ style 
principally  to  be  cultivated  being  the  clear  and 


78       FRANKLIN'S  WRITINGS  ON   EDUCATION 

the  concise.  Reading  should  also  be  taught, 
and  pronouncing  properly,  distinctly,  emphati 
cally  ;  not  with  an  even  tone,  which  underdoes, 
nor  a  theatrical,  which  overdoes  nature. 

To  form  their  style,  they  should  be  put  on 
writing  letters  to  each  other,  making  abstracts 
of  what  they  read,  or  writing  the  same  things  in 
their  own  words  ;  telling  or  writing  stories  lately 
read,  in  their  own  expressions,  all  to  be  revised 
and  corrected  by  the  tutor,  who  should  give  his 
reasons  and  explain  the  force  and  import  of 
words. 

To  form  their  pronunciation,  they  may  be  put 
on  making  declamations,  repeating  speeches,  and 
delivering  orations ;  the  tutor  assisting  at  the  re 
hearsals,  teaching,  advising,  and  correcting  their 
accent. 

But  if  history  be  made  a  constant  part  of  their 
reading,  such  as  the  translations  of  the  Greek 
and  Roman  historians,  and  the  modern  histories 
of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome,  may  not  almost 
all  kinds  of  useful  knowledge  be  that  way  intro 
duced  to  advantage,  and  with  pleasure  to  the 
student  ?  As 

Geography,  by  reading  with  maps,  and  being 
required  to  point  out  the  places  where  the  great 
est  actions  were  done,  to  give  their  old  and  new 


EDUCATION  IN   PENNSYLVANIA  79 

names,  with  the  bounds,  situation,  and  extent  of 
the  countries  concerned. 

Chronology,  by  the  help  of  Helvicus  or  some 
other  writer  of  the  kind,  who  will  enable  them 
to  tell  when  those  events  happened,  what  princes 
were  contemporaries,  and  what  states  or  famous 
men  flourished  about  that  time;  the  several 
principal  epochs  to  be  first  well  fixed  in  their 
memories. 

Ancient  customs,  religious  and  civil,  being  fre 
quently  mentioned  in  history,  will  give  occasion 
for  explaining  them,  in  which  the  print  of  med 
als,  basso-rilievos,  and  ancient  monuments  will 
greatly  assist. 

Morality,  by  descanting  and  making  continual 
observations  on  the  causes  of  the  rise  or  fall  of 
any  man's  character,  fortune,  and  power,  men 
tioned  in  history ;  the  advantages  of  temperance, 
order,  frugality,  industry,  and  perseverance. 
Indeed,  the  general  natural  tendency  of  reading 
good  history  must  be  to  fix  in  the  minds  of  youth 
deep  impressions  of  the  beauty  and  usefulness  of 
virtue  of  all  kinds,  public  spirit,  and  fortitude. 

History  will  show  the  wonderful  effects  of 
oratory  in  governing,  turning,  and  leading  great 
bodies  of  mankind,  —  armies,  cities,  nations. 
When  the  minds  of  youth  are  struck  with  ad- 


80       FRANKLIN'S  WRITINGS  ON  EDUCATION 

miration  at  this,  then  is  the  time  to  give  them 
the  principles  of  that  art,  which  they  will  study 
with  taste  and  application.  Then  they  may  be 
made  acquainted  with  the  best  models  among  the 
ancients,  their  beauties  being  particularly  pointed 
out  to  them.  Modern  political  oratory  being 
chiefly  performed  by  the  pen  and  press,  its  ad 
vantages  over  the  ancient  in  some  respects  are 
to  be  shown,  —  as  that  its  effects  are  more  ex 
tensive  and  more  lasting. 

History  will  also  afford  frequent  opportunities 
of  showing  the  necessity  of  a  public  religion,  from 
its  usefulness  to  the  public ;  the  advantage  of  a 
religious  character  among  private  persons ;  the 
mischiefs  of  superstition,  and  the  excellency  of 
the  Christian  religion  above  all  others,  ancient 
or  modern. 

History  will  also  give  occasion  to  expatiate  on 
the  advantage  of  civil  orders  and  constitutions, 
—  how  men  and  their  properties  are  protected  by 
joining  in  societies  and  establishing  government; 
their  industry  encouraged  and  rewarded,  arts 
invented,  and  life  made  more  comfortable ;  the 
advantages  of  liberty,  mischiefs  of  licentiousness, 
benefits  arising  from  good  laws  and  a  due  execu 
tion  of  justice.  Thus  may  the  first  principles  of 
sound  politics  be  fixed  in  the  minds  of  youth. 


EDUCATION  IN  PENNSYLVANIA  8 1 

On  historical  occasions,  questions  of  right  and 
wrong,  justice  and  injustice,  will  naturally  arise, 
and  may  be  put  to  youth,  which  they  may  debate 
in  conversation  and  in  writing.  When  they  ar 
dently  desire  victory,  for  the  sake  of  the  praise 
attending  it,  they  will  begin  to  feel  the  want  and 
be  sensible  of  the  use  of  logic,  of  the  art  of  rea 
soning  to  discover  truth,  and  of  arguing  to  defend 
it,  and  convince  adversaries.  This  would  be  the 
time  to  acquaint  them  with  the  principles  of  that 
art.  Grotius,  Puff endorff,  and  some  other  writers 
of  the  same  kind  may  be  used  on  these  occasions 
to  decide  their  disputes.  (Public  disputes  warm 
the  imagination,  whet  the  industry,  and  strengthen  ; 
the  natural  abilities'. 

When  you  are  told  that  the  great  men  whose 
lives  and  actions  they  read  in  history  spoke  two 
of  the  best  languages  that  ever  were,  the  most 
expressive,  copious,  beautiful ;  and  that  the  finest 
writings,  the  most  correct  compositions,  the  most 
perfect  productions  of  human  wit  and  wisdom, 
are  in  those  languages,  which  have  endured  for 
ages,  and  will  endure  while  there  are  men ;  that 
no  translation  can  do  them  justice,  or  give  the 
pleasure  found  in  reading  the  originals;  that 
those  languages  contain  all  science;  that  one 
of  them  is  become  almost  universal,  being  the 


82       FRANKLIN'S  WRITINGS  ON  EDUCATION 

language  of  learned  men  in  all  countries ;  and 
that  to  understand  them  is  a  distinguishing  orna 
ment  ;  they  may  therefore  be  made  desirous  of 
learning  those  languages,  and  their  industry 
sharpened  in  the  acquisition  of  them.  All  in 
tended  for  divinity  should  be  taught  the  Latin 
and  Greek;  for  physic,  the  Latin,  Greek,  and 
French;  for  law,  the  Latin  and  French;  mer 
chants,  the  French,  German,  and  Spanish ;  and, 
though  all  should  not  be  compelled  to  learn  Latin, 
Greek,  or  the  modern  foreign  languages,  yet  none 
that  have  an  ardent  desire  to  learn  them  should 
be  refused,  their  English,  arithmetic,  and  other 
studies  absolutely  necessary  being  at  the  same 
time  not  neglected. 

If  the  new  Universal  History  were  also  read, 
it  would  give  a  connected  idea  of  human  affairs, 
so  far  as  it  goes,  which  should  be  followed  by  the 
best  modern  histories,  particularly  of  our  mother 
country ;  then  of  these  colonies,  which  should  be 
accompanied  with  observations  on  their  rise,  in 
crease,  use  to  Great  Britain,  encouragements  and 
discouragements,  the  means  to  make  them  flour 
ish  and  secure  their  liberties. 

With  the  history  of  men,  times,  and  nations, 
should  be  read,  at  proper  hours  or  days,  some  of 
the  best  histories  of  nature,  which  should  not 


EDUCATION  IN  PENNSYLVANIA  83 

only  be  delightful  to  youth,  and  furnish  them 
with  matter  for  their  letters,  as  well  as  other  his 
tory,  but  would  afterward  be  of  great  use  to  them, 
whether  they  are  merchants,  handicrafts,  or  di 
vines  ;  enabling  the  first  the  better  to  understand 
many  commodities  and  drugs,  the  second  to  im 
prove  his  trade  or  handicraft  by  new  mixtures 
and  materials,  and  the  last  to  adorn  his  discourses 
by  beautiful  comparisons,  and  strengthen  them 
by  new  proofs  of  divine  Providence.  The  con 
versation  of  all  will  be  improved  by  it,  as  oc 
casions  frequently  occur  of  making  natural 
observations,  which  are  instructive,  agreeable, 
and  entertaining  in  almost  all  companies.  Natu 
ral  history  will  also  afford  opportunities  of 
introducing  many  observations  relating  to  the 
preservation  of  health,  which  may  be  afterward 
of  great  use.  Arbuthnot  on  Air  and  Aliment, 
Sanctorius  on  Perspiration,  Lemery  on  Foods, 
and  some  others,  may  now  be  read,  and  a  very 
little  explanation  will  make  them  sufficiently  in 
telligible  to  youth. 

While  they  are  reading  natural  history,  might 
not  a  little  gardening,  planting,  grafting,  and  in 
oculating  be  taught  and  practised,  and  now  and 
then  excursions  made  to  the  neighboring  planta 
tions  of  the  best  farmers,  their  methods  observed 


84       FRANKLIN'S  WRITINGS  ON   EDUCATION 

and  reasoned  upon  for  the  information  of  youth  ? 
The  improvement  of  agriculture  being  useful  to 
all,  and  skill  in  it  no  disparagement  to  any. 

The  history  of  commerce,  of  the  invention  of 
arts,  rise  of  manufactures,  progress  of  trade, 
change  of  its  seats,  with  the  reason  and  causes, 
may  also  be  made  entertaining  to  youth,  and 
will  be  useful  to  all.  And  this,  with  the  accounts 
in  other  history  of  the  prodigious  force  and  effect 
of  engines  and  machines  used  in  war,  will  natu 
rally  introduce  a  desire  to  be  instructed  in  me 
chanics,  and  to  be  informed  of  the  principles  of 
that  art  by  which  weak  men  perform  such  won 
ders,  labor  is  saved,  and  manufactures  expedited. 
This  will  be  the  time  to  show  them  prints  of 
ancient  and  modern  machines ;  to  explain  to 
them,  to  let  them  be  copied,  and  to  give  lectures 
in  mechanical  philosophy. 

With  the  whole  should  be  constantly  inculcated 
and  cultivated  that  benignity  of  mind  which 
shows  itself  in  searching  for  and  seizing  every 
opportunity  to  serve  and  to  oblige,  and  is  the 
foundation  of  what  is  called  good  breeding,  — 
highly  useful  to  the  possessor,  and  most  agree 
able  to  all. 

The  idea  of  what  is  true  merit  should  also  be 
often  presented  to  youth,  explained  and  impressed 


EDUCATION  IN  PENNSYLVANIA  85 

on  their  minds,  as  consisting  in  an  inclination, 
joined  with  an  ability,  to  serve  mankind,  one's 
country,  friends,  and  family;  which  ability  is, 
with  the  blessing  of  God,  to  be  acquired  or 
greatly  increased  by  true  learning,  and  should 
indeed  be  the  great  aim  and  end  of  all  learning. 


IV 


SKETCH  OF  AN  ENGLISH  SCHOOL 

FOR  THE  CONSIDERATION  OF  THE  TRUSTEES  OF  THE 
PHILADELPHIA  ACADEMY 

[Franklin's  plan  was  for  an  English  school,  with  no 
ancient  or  modern  languages.  It  was  to  fit  the  youth  "  for 
learning  any  business,  calling,  or  profession,  except  such 
wherein  languages  are  required."  This  Sketch  of  an  Eng 
lish  School  was  written  in  1749,  and  read  by  the  principal  at 
the  opening  of  the  Academy.] 

IT  is  expected  that  every  scholar,  to  be  ad 
mitted  into  this  school,  be  at  least  able  to  pro 
nounce  and  divide  the  syllables  in  reading,  and 
to  write  a  legible  hand.  None  to  be  received 
that  are  under  nine  years  of  age. 

First  or  Lowest  Class 

Let  the  first  class  learn  the  English  Grammar 
rules,  and  at  the  same  time  let  particular  care 
be  taken  to  improve  them  in  orthography.  Per 
haps  the  latter  is  best  done  by  pairing  the 
scholars :  two  of  those  nearest  equal  in  their 
86 


SKETCH   OF  AN   ENGLISH   SCHOOL  8/ 

spelling  to  be  put  together.  Let  these  strive 
for  victory,  each  propounding  ten  words  every 
day  to  the  other  to  be  spelled.  He  that  spells 
truly  most  of  the  other's  words  is  victor  for  that 
day ;  he  that  is  victor  most  days  in  a  month  to 
obtain  a  prize,  a  pretty,  neat  book  of  some  kind, 
useful  in  their  future  studies.  This  method 
fixes  the  attention  of  children  extremely  to  the 
orthography  of  words,  and  makes  them  good 
spellers  very  early.  It  is  a  shame  for  a  man  to 
be  so  ignorant  of  this  little  art  in  his  own  lan 
guage  as  to  be  perpetually  confounding  words 
of  like  sound  and  different  significance;  the 
consciousness  of  which  defect  makes  some  men, 
otherwise  of  good  learning  and  understanding, 
averse  to  writing  even  a  common  letter. 

Let  the  pieces  read  by  the  scholars  in  this 
class  be  short,  such  as  Croxall's  Fables,  and 
little  stories.  In  giving  the  lesson  let  it  be  read 
to  them ;  let  the  meaning  of  the  difficult  words 
in  it  be  explained  to  them ;  and  let  them  con 
over  by  themselves  before  they  are  called  to 
read  to  the  master  or  usher,  who  is  to  take  par 
ticular  care  that  they  do  not  read  too  fast,  and 
that  they  duly  observe  the  stops  and  pauses.  A 
vocabulary  of  the  most  usual  difficult  words 
might  be  formed  for  their  use,  with  explana- 


88       FRANKLIN'S  WRITINGS   ON  EDUCATION 

tions ;  and  they  might  daily  get  a  few  of  those 
words  and  explanations  by  heart,  which  would 
a  little  exercise  their  memories ;  or  at  least  they 
might  write  a  number  of  them  in  a  small  book 
for  the  purpose,  which  would  help  to  fix  the 
meaning  of  those  words  in  their  minds,  and  at 
the  same  time  furnish  every  one  with  a  little 
dictionary  for  his  future  use. 

The  Second  Class 

To  be  taught  reading  with  attention,  and  with 
proper  modulation  of  the  voice,  according  to  the 
sentiment  and  the  subject. 

Some  short  pieces,  not  exceeding  the  length 
of  a  Spectator,  to  be  given  this  class  for  lessons 
(and  some  of  the  easier  Spectators  would  be 
very  suitable  for  the  purpose).  These  lessons 
might  be  given  every  night  as  tasks,  the  scholars 
to  study  them  against  the  morning.  Let  it  then 
be  required  of  them  to  give  an  account,  first,  of 
the  parts  of  speech  and  construction  of  one  or 
two  sentences.  This  will  oblige  them  to  recur 
frequently  to  their  grammar  and  fix  its  principal 
rules  in  their  memory.  Next,  of  the  intention 
of  the  writer,  or  the  scope  of  the  piece,  the 
^meaning  of  each  sentence  and  of  every  common 
word.  This  would  early  acquaint  them  with  the 


SKETCH   OF   AN   ENGLISH   SCHOOL  89 

meaning  and  force  of  words,  and  give  them  that 
most  necessary  habit  of  reading  with  attention. 

The  master  then  to  read  the  piece  with  the 
proper  modulations  of  voice,  due  emphasis,  and 
suitable  action,  where  action  is  required ;  and 
put  the  youth  on  imitating  his  manner.  Where 
the  author  has  used  an  expression  not  the  best, 
let  it  be  pointed  out;  and  let  his  beauties  be 
particularly  remarked  to  the  youth. 

Let  the  lessons  for  reading  be  yjariejl,  that  the 
youth  may  be  acquainted  with  good  style  of  all 
kinds,  in  prose  and  verse,  and  the  proper  man 
ner  of  reading  each  kind  ;  sometimes  a  well-told 
story,  a  piece  of  a  sermon,  a  general's  speech  to 
his  soldiers,  a  speech  in  a  tragedy,  some  part  of 
a  comedy,  an  ode,  a  satire,  a  letter,  blank  verse, 
Hudibrastic,  heroic,  etc.  But  let  such  lessons 
be  chosen  for  reading  as  contain  some  useful 
instruction,  whereby  the  understanding  or  morals 
of  the  youth  may  at  the  same  time  be  improved. 

It  is  required  that  they  should  first  study  and 
understand  the  lessons  before  they  are  put  upon 
reading  them  properly  ;  to  which  end  each  boy 
should  have  an  English  dictionary  to  help  him 
over  difficulties.  When  our  boys 'read  English 
to  us  we  are  apt  to  imagine  they  understand 
what  they  read,  because  we  do,  and  because  it 


90       FRANKLIN'S  WRITINGS  ON   EDUCATION 

is  their  mother  tongue.  But  they  often  read,  as 
parrots  speak,  knowing  little  or  nothing  of  the 
meaning.  And  it  is  not  possible  a  reader  should 
give  the  due  modulation  to  his  voice  and  pro 
nounce  properly,  unless  his  understanding  goes 
before  his  tongue  and  makes  him  master  of  the 
sentiment.  Accustoming  boys  to  read  aloud 
what  they  do  not  first  understand  is  the  cause 
of  those  even,  set  tones  so  common  among 
readers,  which  when  they  have  once  got  a  habit 
of  using  they  find  so  difficult  to  correct;  by 
which  means  among  fifty  readers  we  scarcely 
find  a  good  one.  For  want  of  good  reading 
pieces  published  with  a  view  to  influence  the 
minds  of  men,  for  their  own  or  public  benefit, 
lose  half  their  force.  Were  there  but  one  good 
reader  in  a  neighborhood  a  public  orator  might 
be  heard  throughout  a  nation  with  the  same 
advantages,  and  have  the  same  effect  upon  his 
audience  as  if  they  stood  within  the  reach  of  his 
voice. 

The  Third  Class 

To  be  taught  speaking  properly  and  gracefully, 
which  is  nearer  akin  to  good  reading,  and  natu 
rally  follows  it  in  the  studies  of  youth.  Let  the 
scholars  of  this  class  begin  with  learning  the 


SKETCH   OF  AN   ENGLISH   SCHOOL  91 

elements  of  rhetoric  from  some  short  system,  so 
as  to  be  able  to  give  an  account  of  the  most 
useful  tropes  and  figures.  Let  all  their  bad 
habits  of  speaking,  all  offences  against  good 
grammar,  all  corrupt  or  foreign  accents,  and  all 
improper  phrases,  be  pointed  out  to  them.  Short 
speeches  from  the  Roman  or  other  history,  or 
from  thejDarliamentary  debates,  might  be  got 
by  heart,  and  delivered  with  the  proper  action, 
etc.  Speeches  and  scenes  in  our  best  tragedies 
and  comedies  (avoiding  everything  that  might 
injure  the  morals  of  youth)  might  likewise  be 
got  by  rote,  and  the  boys  exercised  in  delivering 
or  acting  them,  great  care  being  taken  to  form 
their  manner  after  the  truest  models. 

For  their  further  improvement,  and  a  little  to 
vary  their  studies,  let  them  now  begin  to  read 
Jiistory,  after  having  got  by  heart  a  short  table 
of  the  principal  epochs  of  chronology.  They 
may  begin  with  Rollin's  Ancient  and  Roman 
Histories  and  proceed  at  proper  hours,  as  they 
go  through  the  subsequent  classes,  with  the  best 
histories  of  our  own  nation  and  the  colonies. 
Let  emulation  be  excited  among  the  boys  by 
giving,  weekly,  little  prizes,  or  other  small  en 
couragements,  to  those  who  are  able  to  give  the 
best  account  of  what  they  have  read,  as  to  time, 


92       FRANKLIN'S  WRITINGS  ON   EDUCATION 

places,  names  of  persons,  etc.  This  will  make 
them  read  with  attention,  and  imprint  the  history 
well  in  their  memories.  In  remarking  on  the 
history  the  master  will  have  fine  opportunities 
of  instilling  instruction  of  various  kinds,  and 
improving  the  morals  as  well  as  the  understand 
ings  of  youth. 

The  natural  and  mechanic  history,  contained 
in  the  Spectacle  de  la  Nature,  might  also  be  be 
gun  in  this  class,  and  continued  through  the 
subsequent  classes  by  other  books  of  the  same 
kin'd ;  for,  next  to  the  knowledge  of  duty,  this 
kind  of  knowledge  is  certainly  the  most  useful, 
as  well  as  the  most  entertaining.  The  merchant 
may  thereby  be  enabled  better  to  understand 
many  commodities  in  trade ;  the  handicraftsman 
to  improve  his  business  by  new  instruments, 
mixtures,  and  materials ;  and  frequently  hints 
are  given  for  new  manufactures,  or  new  methods 
of  improving  land,  that  may  be  set  on  foot 
greatly  to  the  advantage  of  a  country. 

The  Fourth  Class 

To  be  taught  composition.  Writing  one's  own 
language  well  is  the  necessary  accomplishment 
after  good  speaking.  It  is  the  writing  master's 
business  to  take  care  that  the  boys  make  fair 


SKETCH   OF  AN  ENGLISH   SCHOOL  93 

characters  and  place  them  straight  and  even  in 
the  lines ;  but  to  form  their  style,  and  even  to 
take  care  that  the  stops  and  capitals  are  properly 
disposed,  is  the  part  of  the  English  master.  The 
boys  should  be  put  on  writing  letters  to  each 
other  on  common  occurrences,  and  on  various 
subjects,  imaginary  business,  etc.,  containing  lit 
tle  stories,  accounts  of  their  late  reading,  what 
parts  of  authors  please  them,  and  why ;  letters 
of  congratulation,  of  compliment,  of  request,  of 
thanks,  of  recommendation,  of  admonition,  of 
consolation,  of  expostulation,  excuse,  etc.  In 
these  they  should  be  taught  to  express  them 
selves  clearly,  concisely,  and  naturally,  without 
affected  words  or  high-flown  phrases.  All  their 
letters  to  pass  through  the  master's  hands,  who 
is  to  point  out  the  faults,  advise  the  corrections, 
and  commend  what  he  finds  right.  Some  of  the 
best  letters  published  in  our  own  language,  as 
Sir  William  Temple's,  those  of  Pope  and  his 
friends,  and  some  others,  might  be  set  before  the 
youth  as  models,  their  beauties  pointed  out  and 
explained  by  the  master,  the  letters  themselves 
transcribed  by  the  scholar. 

Dr.  Johnson's  Ethices  Elementa,  or  First  Prin 
ciples  of  Morality,  may  now  be  read  by  the 
scholars,  and  explained  by  the  master,  to  lay  a 


94       FRANKLIN'S  WRITINGS  ON  EDUCATION 

solid  foundation  of  virtue  and  piety  in  their 
minds.  And  as  this  class  continues  the  reading 
of  .history,  let  them  now,  at  proper  hours,  receive 
some  further  instruction  in  chronology,  and  in 
that  part  of  geography  (from  the  mathematical 
master)  which  is  necessary  to  understand  the 
maps  and  globes.  They  should  also  be  acquainted 
with  the  modern  names  of  the  places  they  find 
mentioned  in  ancient  writers.  The  exercises  of 
good  reading  and  proper  speaking  still  continued 
at  suitable  times. 

Fifth  Class 

To  improve  the  youth  in  composition,  they 
may  now,  besides  continuing  to  write  letters, 
begin  to  write  little  essays  in  prose,  and  some 
times  in  verse ;  not  to  make  them  poets,  but  for 
this  reason,  that  nothing  acquaints  a  lad  so 
speedily  with  variety  of  expression  as  the  neces 
sity  of  finding  such  words  and  phrases  as  will 
suit  the  measure,  sound,  and  rhyme  of  verse, 
and  at  the  same  time  well  express  the  sentiment 
These  essays  should  all  pass  under  the  master's 
eye,  who  will  point  out  their  faults,  and  put  the 
writer  on  correcting  them.  Where  the  judg 
ment  is  not  ripe  enough  for  forming  new  essays, 
let  the  sentiments  of  a  Spectator  be  given,  and 


SKETCH  OF  AN  ENGLISH  SCHOOL  95 

required  to  be  clothed  in  the  scholar's  own 
words  ;  or  the  circumstances  of  some  good  story, 
the  scholar  to  find  expression.  Let  them  be  put 
sometimes  on  abridging  a  paragraph  of  a  diffuse 
author;  sometimes  on  dilating  or  amplifying 
what  is  written  more  closely.  And  now  let  Dr. 
Johnson's  Noetica,  or  First  Principles  of  Human 
Knowledge,  containing  a  logic  or  art  of  reason 
ing,  etc.,  be  read  by  the  youth  and  the  difficul 
ties  that  may  occur  to  them  be  explained  by  the 
master.  The  reading  of  history,  and  the  exer 
cises  of  good  reading  and  just  speaking,  still 
continued. 

Sixth  Class 

In  this  class,  besides  continuing  the  studies  of 
the  preceding  in  history,  rhetoric,  logic,  moral 
and  natural  philosophy,  the  best  English  authors 
may  be  read  and  explained ;  as  Tillotson,  Milton, 
Locke,  Addison,  Pope,  Swift,  and  higher  papers 
in  the  Spectator  and  Guardian,  the  best  transla 
tions  of  Homer,  Virgil,  and  Horace,  and  Telem- 
achus,  Travels  of  Cyrus,  etc. 

Once  a  year  let  there  be  public  exercises  in  the 
hall,  the  trustees  and  citizens  being  present.  Then 
let  fine  gilt  books  be  given  as  prizes  to  such  boys 
as  distinguish  themselves  and  excel  the  others 


96       FRANKLIN'S  WRITINGS  ON   EDUCATION 

in  any  branch  of  learning,  making  three  degrees 
of  comparison ;  giving  the  best  prize  to  him  that 
performs  best,  a  less  valuable  one  to  him  that 
comes  up  next  to  the  best,  and  another  to  the 
third ;  commendations,  encouragement,  and  ad 
vice  to  the  rest ;  keeping  up  their  hopes,  that 
by  industry  they  may  excel  another  time.  The 
names  of  those  that  obtain  the  prize  to  be  yearly 
printed  in  a  list. 

The  hours  of  each  day  are  to  be  divided  and 
disposed  in  such  a  manner  as  that  some  classes 
may  be  with  the  writing  master,  improving  their 
hands ;  others  with  the  mathematical  master, 
learning  arithmetic,  accounts,  geography,  use  of 
the  globes,  drawing,  mechanics,  etc. ;  while  the 
rest  are  in  the  English  school,  under  the  English 
master's  care. 

Thus  instructed,  youth  will  come  out  of  this 
school,  fitted  for  learning  any  business,  calling, 
or  profession,  except  such  wherein  languages 
are  required ;  and,  though  unacquainted  with  any 
ancient  or  foreign  tongue,  they  will  be  masters 
of  their  own,  which  is  of  more  immediate  and 
general  use,  and  withal  will  have  attained  many 
other  valuable  accomplishments ;  the  time  usu 
ally  spent  in  acquiring  those  languages,  often 
without  success,  being  here  employed  in  laying 


SKETCH   OF  AN   ENGLISH   SCHOOL  97 

such  a  foundation  of  knowledge  and  ability  as, 
properly  improved,  may  qualify  them  to  pass 
through  and  execute  the  several  offices  of  civil 
life,  with  advantage  and  reputation  to  themselves 
and  country. 


SPEECH   IN   THE   CONVENTION 

AT  THE  CONCLUSION  OF  ITS  DELIBERATIONS 

[This  speech  shows  Franklin's  characteristic  modest 
diffidence,  an  air  of  doubt  as  to  the  validity  of  his  own 
opinions  and  a  feeling  of  assurance  only  in  a  superhuman 
guidance.  He  wanted  unanimity  in  the  vote  to  adopt  the 
proposed  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  though  several 
members,  and  himself  one  of  them,  did  not  favor  some 
provisions  of  the  draft.  He  admitted  that  he  had  many 
times  changed  his  judgment  and  that  he  might  do  so 
again ;  he  was  willing  to  sacrifice  his  own  opinions  to  the 
public  good,  and  he  urged  others  to  do  the  same.  The 
result  was  the  passage  of  the  motion  to  adopt  by  unanimous 
consent.] 

MR.  PRESIDENT  :  I  confess  that  I  do  not  en 
tirely  approve  of  this  Constitution  at  present; 
but,  Sir,  I  am  not  sure  I  shall  never  approve 
it;  for,  having  lived  long,  I  have  experienced 
many  instances  of  being  obliged,  by  better  in 
formation  or  fuller  consideration,  to  change 
opinions  even  on  important  subjects  which  I 
once  thought  right,  but  found  to  be  otherwise. 


SPEECH   IN  THE  CONVENTION  99 

It  is  therefore  that,  the  older  I  grow,  the  more 
apt  I  am  to  doubt  my  own  judgment  of  others. 
Most  men,  indeed,  as  well  as  most  sects  in 
religion,  think  themselves  in  possession  of  all 
truth,  and  that  wherever  others  differ  from  them 
it  is  so  far  error.  Steele,  a  Protestant,  in  a 
dedication,  tells  the  Pope  that  the  only  differ 
ence  between  our  two  churches  in  their  opinions 
of  the  certainty  of  their  doctrines  is,  the  Romish 
church  is  infallible,  and  the  church  of  England 
is  never  in  the  wrong.  But,  though  many 
private  persons  think  almost  as  highly  of  their 
own  infallibility  as  that  of  their  sect,  few  express 
it  so  naturally  as  a  certain  French  lady  who,  in 
a  little  dispute  with  her  sister,  said,  "  But  I  meet 
with  nobody  but  myself  that  is  always  in  the 
right."  "Je  trouve  que  moi  qui  aie  toujours 
raison." 

In  these  sentiments,  Sir,  I  agree  to  this  Con 
stitution,  with  all  its  faults  —  if  they  are  such; 
because  I  think  a  general  government  necessary 
for  us,  and  there  is  no  form  of  government  but 
what  may  be  a  blessing  to  the  people,  if  well 
administered ;  and  I  believe  further  that  this 
is  likely  to  be  well  administered  for  a  course 
of  years,  and  can  only  end  in  despotism,  as 
other  forms  have  done  before  it,  when  the  people 


IOO    FRANKLIN'S  WRITINGS  ON  EDUCATION 

shall  become  so  corrupted  as  to  need  despotic 
government,  being  incapable  of  any  other.  I 
doubt,  too,  whether  any  other  convention  we  can 
obtain  may  be  able  to  make  a  better  constitu 
tion  ;  for  when  you  assemble  a  number  of  men, 
to  have  the  advantage  of  their  joint  wisdom,  you 
inevitably  assemble  with  those  men  all  their 
prejudices,  their  passions,  their  errors  of  opinion, 
their  local  interests,  and  their  selfish  views. 
From  such  an  assembly  can  a  perfect  produc 
tion  be  expected  ?  It  therefore  astonishes  me, 
Sir,  to  find  this  system  approaching  so  near 
to  perfection  as  it  does;  and  I  think  it  will 
astonish  our  enemies,  who  are  waiting  with  con 
fidence  to  hear  that  our  councils  are  confounded 
like  those  of  the  builders  of  Babel,  and  that  our 
states  are  on  the  point  of  separation,  only  to 
meet  hereafter  for  the  purpose  of  cutting  one 
another's  throats.  Thus  I  consent,  Sir,  to  this 
Constitution,  because  I  expect  no  better  and 
because  I  am  not  sure  that  it  is  not  the  best. 
The  opinions  I  have  had  of  its  errors  I  sacrifice 
to  the  public  good.  I  have  never  whispered  a 
syllable  of  them  abroad.  Within  these  walls 
they  were  born  and  here  they  shall  die.  If 
every  one  of  us,  returning  to  our  constituents, 
were  to  report  the  objections  he  has  had  to  it 


SPEECH   IN  THE   CONVENTION  IOI 

and  endeavor  to  gain  partisans  in  support  of 
them,  we  might  prevent  its  being  generally  re 
ceived,  and  thereby  lose  all  the  salutory  effects 
and  great  advantages  resulting  naturally  in  our 
favor  among  foreign  nations,  as  well  as  among 
ourselves,  from  our  real  or  apparent  unanimity. 
Much  of  the  strength  and  efficiency  of  any 
government  in  procuring  and  securing  happiness 
to  the  people  depends  upon  opinion,  on  the 
general  opinion  of  the  goodness  of  that  govern 
ment,  as  well  as  of  the  wisdom  and  integrity  of 
its  governors.  I  hope,  therefore,  for  our  own 
sakes,  as  a  part  of  the  people,  and  for  the  sake 
of  our  posterity,  that  we  shall  act  heartily  and 
unanimously  in  recommending  this  Constitution 
wherever  our  influence  may  extend,  and  turn 
our  future  thoughts  and  endeavors  to  the  means 
of  having  it  well  administered. 

On  the  whole,  Sir,  I  cannot  help  expressing  a 
wish  that  every  member  of  the  convention  who 
may  still  have  objections  to  it  would  with  me  on 
this  occasion  doubt  a  little  of  his  own  infallibility 
and,  to  make  manifest  our  unanimity,  put  his 
name  to  this  instrument. 

[Then  the  motion  was  made  for  adding  the  last  formula, 
viz.,  "  Done  in  convention  by  the  unanimous  consent,"  etc., 
which  was  agreed  to  and  added  accordingly.] 


VI 

MOTION   FOR   PRAYERS   IN   THE   CONVENTION 

[This  motion  was  made  during  the  session  of  the  con 
vention  that  framed  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 
It  shows  Franklin's  faith  in  the  guiding  hand  of  a  divine 
Providence.] 

MR.  PRESIDENT  :  The  small  progress  we  have 
made,  after  four  or  five  weeks'  close  attendance 
and  continual  reasonings  with  each  other,  our 
different  sentiments  on  almost  every  question, 
several  of  the  last  producing  as  many  noes  as 
ayes,  is,  methinks,  a  melancholy  proof  of  the 
imperfection  of  the  human  understanding.  We 
indeed  seem  to  feel  our  own  want  of  political 
wisdom,  since  we  have  been  running  all  about 
in  search  of  it.  We  have  gone  back  to  ancient 
history  for  models  of  government,  and  exam 
ined  the  different  forms  of  those  republics, 
which,  having  been  originally  formed  with  the 
seeds  of  their  own  dissolution,  now  no  longer 
exist;  and  we  have  viewed  modern  states  all 

102 


PRAYERS  IN  THE  CONVENTION     103 

around  Europe,  but  find  none  of  their  constitu 
tions  suitable  to  our  circumstances. 

In  this  situation  of  this  assembly,  groping,  as 
it  were,  in  the  dark  to  find  political  truth,  and 
scarce  able  to  distinguish  it  when  presented  to 
us,  how  has  it  happened,  Sir,  that  we  have  not 
hitherto  once  thought  of  humbly  applying  to  the 
Father  of  Lights  to  illuminate  our  understand 
ings  ?  In  the  beginning  of  the  contest  with 
Britain,  when  we  were  sensible  of  danger,  we 
had  daily  prayers  in  this  room  for  divine  pro 
tection.  Our  prayers,  Sir,  were  heard ;  and 
they  were  graciously  answered.  All  of  us,  who 
were  engaged  in  the  struggle,  must  have  ob 
served  frequent  instances  of  a  superintending 
Providence  in  our  favor.  To  that  kind  Provi 
dence  we  owe  this  happy  opportunity  of  consult 
ing  in  peace  on  the  means  of  establishing  our 
future  national  felicity.  And  have  we  now  for 
gotten  that  powerful  Friend  ?  or  do  we  imagine 
we  no  longer  need  its  assistance  ?  I  have  lived, 
Sir,  a  long  time ;  and  the  longer  I  live  the  more 
convincing  proofs  I  see  of  this  truth,  that  God 
governs  in  the  affairs  of  men.  And,  if  a  sparrow 
cannot  fall  to  the  ground  without  His  notice,  is 
it  probable  that  an  empire  can  rise  without  His 
aid  ?  We  have  been  assured,  Sir,  in  the  Sacred 


104     FRANKLIN'S  WRITINGS   ON   EDUCATION 

Writings,  that,  "  except  the  Lord  build  the  house, 
they  labor  in  vain  that  build  it."  I  firmly  believe 
this ;  and  I  also  believe  that,  without  his  con 
curring  aid,  we  shall  succeed  in  this  political 
building  no  better  than  the  builders  of  Babel ; 
we  shall  be  divided  by  our  little,  partial,  local 
interests,  our  projects  will  be  confounded,  and 
we  ourselves  shall  become  a  reproach  and  a  by 
word  down  to  future  ages.  And,  what  is  worse, 
mankind  may  hereafter,  from  this  unfortunate 
instance,  despair  of  establishing  government  by 
human  wisdom,  and  leave  it  to  chance,  war,  and 
conquest. 

I  therefore  beg  leave  to  move, 

That  hereafter  prayers,  imploring  the  assist 
ance  of  Heaven  and  its  blessing  on  our  deliber 
ations,  be  held  in  this  assembly  every  morning 
before  we  proceed  to  business  ;  and  that  one  or 
more  of  the  clergy  of  this  city  be  requested  to 
officiate  in  that  service. 

NOTE  BY  DR.  FRANKLIN.  —  "  The  convention,  except 
three  or  four  persons,  thought  prayers  unnecessary  ! " 


or  THE 
UNIVERSITY 

or 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

F  LOAN  DEPT. 

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